PLATE:     i 


PIGMLNT      MIXTURE 


ThE    COLOR   CIRCLE 


To    gray   a   color   add     the    color    which     is     opposite 
to    It    on    the    wheel.     &.g.    to    gray     orange      add 
blue;    bo   gray     blue    &dd     oranoe  .   This     represents 
pLoment     mixture,     not     the     mixture     of     colored 
lights.    Many      of     these      grayed      hues      will 
look     brownish.    The    grays     whi.cn      result     from 
mixind      violet      and     yellow      will      look     Itke 
violet     browns.   Similarity      red      and 


o 


t 
lve       russet     brown      or     olive      brown.    Ulue 


i 
and     orange,    with     oranoe      predominating 

plve      a     polden      brown. 


Color  in  Everyday  Life 

A  Manual  for  Lay  Students, 
Artisans  and  Artists 

On  the  Principles  of  Color  Combination  and  Color 
Arrangement,  and  their  Applications  in  Dress, 
Home,  Business,  the  Theatre  and  Community  Play 


BY 

LOUIS  ^EINBERG 

COLOR   CONSULTANT 

Art  Lecturer  in  the  Extension  Courses,  College  of  the  City  of  New  York 
New  York  University  Lecturer  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


NEW  YORK 

MOFFAT,  YARD  AND  COMPANY 
1918 


Copyright,  1918,  by 
MOFFAT,  YARD  AND  COMPANY 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PA01 

CHAPTEB  I     COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 3 

The  Practical  Applications  of  Color.  The  Emotional 
Appeal  of  Color.  Color  Study  vs.  Music  Study.  The 
New  Science  of  Color.  Dependence  Upon  Color  Experts. 
The  Interior  Decorator  and  a  Detached  Good  Taste. 
Beauty  in  Everyday  Life  among  the  Greeks.  Democracy 
in  Color  Expression.  'Tollyanna"  vs.  the  Artist  Atti- 
tude. The  Home  Builder  as  an  Artist.  Color  Judgment 
and  Transformed  Homes.  The  Home  a  Confession  of 
Taste.  Theatrical  Vogues  and  the  Home.  Color  and 
Divorce.  Chromo  Therapy  or  Color  Healing.  Woman 
as  an  Artist  in  Dress.  Lack  of  Color  Knowledge  in 
Dress.  The  Eyes  and  a  Popular  Fallacy.  Personality 
and  Color  in  Dress.  The  Business  Man  as  a  Color 
Artist.  Color  in  Posters.  Color  Novelty  in  an  Adver- 
tising Campaign.  Color  and  the  Art  of  Appreciation. 


CHAPTER  II   WHAT  COLOR  IS  AND  HOW  IT  ACTS     .      .     20 

The  Nature  of  Color.  Why  the  Rose  is  Red.  Color 
and  the  Eye.  Color  Complementarism  and  Eye  Fatigue. 
The  Qualities  of  Color.  Advancing  and  Receding  Colors. 
Heat  in  Colors.  Weight  in  Colors.  The  Law  of  Simul- 
taneous Contrast.  The  Naming  of  Colors.  The  Three- 
fold Character  of  Color.  Color  Notation  and  the  Color 
Cube.  Spectrum  Values.  Grays.  Tints  and  Shades. 
Further  Experiments  with  Colored  Slips.  Experiments 
for  the  Activity  of  Colors.  Tests  for  Over-Stimulation 
by  Different  Colors.  Tests  for  Balance  of  Weight,  Value 
and  Warmth. 


CHAPTER  III    CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION     .     .44 

Things   to   Bear   in   Mind.    Making   a   Color   Scheme 
Practical.     Suiting  Colors  to  Purpose  of  Object  Decor- 
Hi 


4286 


iv  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

ated.  Suiting  Colors  to  the  Material  Decorated.  Suit- 
ing Colors  to  the  Shape  and  Construction  of  Objects. 
Color  Combinations.  White,  Black  and  Grays.  Self 
Tones;  Tints,  Shades  and  Intensities  of  One  Hue.  Com- 
binations of  Related  Colors.  Complementarism  and 
Color  Combinations.  Contrast  in  Color  Combinations. 
Modifying  the  Contrast  of  Complementaries.  Color  Com- 
binations and  Simultaneous  Contrast.  The  Importance 
of  the  Color  Chord.  Experiment  and  Observation  for 
Color  Combinations. 


CHAPTER  IV    THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT  .     .     58 

The  Three  Aspects  of  Color  Designing.  The  General 
Principle  of  Color  Arrangement.  Forms  of  Color  Ar- 
rangement. Color  Rhythm  and  Gradation.  Movement 
through  Increased  Area  of  Color  Masses.  Color  Move- 
ment through  Repetition.  Color  Balance.  Proportion  in 
Color  Arrangement.  Dominance.  Elaboration  of  Detail 
vs.  Simplicity.  Mood  in  Colors  and  Color  Arrangement. 


CHAPTEB  V     COLOR  IN  DRESS 70 

Self-Expression  in  Dress.  Cultivating  Observation  for 
Dress  Harmonies.  Making  a  Color  Scheme  Practical. 
Adaptation  to  Use.  Adaptation  to  Material.  Adapta- 
tion to  Structure.  The  Figure  as  Starting  Point  for 
Designer.  Points  of  Emphasis  in  Structure.  Variety 
in  Figures,  Color  and  Proportion.  Plasticity  and  Pro- 
portion. Textures  and  Weight.  Surface  Pattern  and 
Proportion.  Parallelism.  Color  Combinations.  The 
Face  and  Personality  in  Dress  Design.  Enhancing  vs. 
Supplanting  the  Face.  Color  Schemes,  Character  and 
Auras.  Difficulty  in  Classifying  Types.  Simultaneous 
Contrast  in  Dress.  Angel  Harmonies  for  Blondes. 
Brunettes  and  "Youthful  Colors."  The  Red  Haired; 
Lemon  Tinted,  Orange  Colored  and  the  Tangerine  Type. 
Complexion  as  a  Factor.  Softening  the  Features.  In- 
tensity of  Colors  in  Dress.  Value  in  Dress  Color. 
Rhythm  in  Dress  Color.  Balance  in  Dress  Color.  The 
Color  Chord.  Possible  Color  Schemes.  Dominance  in 
the  Color  Chord.  Textures  in  a  Color  Chord.  Men's 
Clothes. 


CONTENTS  v 

PAOl 

CHAPTER  VI    COLOR  IN  THE  HOME 103 

Every  Home,  a  Confession  of  Taste.  The  Home  as  a 
Social  Force.  The  Home  and  the  Character  of  a  Period. 
Fads  in  Home  Decoration.  The  Ultra  Modern  Home. 
Subordination  of  Rooms  to  People.  The  Search  for 
Color  Chords.  Adaptation  of  Color  Scheme  to  Use  of 
Room.  Color  in  the  Kitchen.  Color  in  the  Dining 
Room.  Color  in  the  Library.  Color  in  Children's 
Rooms.  Color  in  the  Music  Room.  Color  in  the  Sleep- 
ing Room.  Adaptation  to  Material.  Color  in  Furniture. 
Economy  and  Harmony.  Painting  vs.  Textures.  Har- 
mony in  Textures.  Color  in  Curtains.  Color  in  Por- 
tieres. Border  Lines.  Color  and  Pictures  in  the  Home. 
Picture  Hanging  a  Problem  in  Proportion.  The  Picture 
Mat  as  a  Color  Note.  Color  in  the  Accessories.  Back- 
grounds and  Decoration.  Color  Climaxes.  Adaptation 
to  Structure.  Active  Colors  and  Size  of  Rooms.  Inten- 
sity and  Size  of  Rooms.  Texture  and  the  Size  of  Rooms. 
Pattern  and  the  Size  of  Rooms.  Color  in  Floor  Cover- 
ings. Color  in  Walls.  Modifying  the  Box-Like  Charac- 
ter of  the  Rooms.  Color  in  the  Ceiling.  Color  Composi- 
tion in  Interior  Decoration.  Rhythm  in  Hues.  Related 
Movement  of  Weight.  Chiaroscuro.  Rhythm  in  the 
Contours  of  Color  Masses.  Surface  Patterns  and  De- 
tached Spottiness.  Balance  of  Hues.  Balance  of  Values. 
Adaptation  of  Color  to  Light.  Artificial  Lighting  a 
Factor.  Influence  of  Artificial  Light  on  Colors.  The 
Lamp  Shade. 


CHAPTER  VII    COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  .......  143 

The  Psychology  of  Appeal  in  Business.  The  Artist 
and  Color  in  Business.  The  Business  Man  as  a  Color 
Artist.  Color  in  the  Container.  Color  in  Business 
Offices.  Color  in  Show  Rooms.  Color  in  the  Store. 
Window  Display  as  an  Art  Impulse.  The  Economic 
Value  of  Window  Display.  The  Object  of  Window  Dis- 
play. The  Architectural  Conditions.  Overcrowding  vs. 
Clarity.  Window  Tickets.  Specialty  Shops.  Color  in 
Circulars.  Stock  in  Circulars.  Colored  Stock.  One 
Printing  on  Colored  Stock.  Two  Printings  on  White 
Stock.  Circulars  of  Three  or  More  Colors.  The  Lay 
Out  in  Printing.  The  Value  of  Line  Movement  in  Color 


CONTENTS 

0 

PAOK 

Interest.  Margins.  Applied  Ornament.  The  Time  Ex- 
posure. Color  Mood  in  Posters.  Real  Estate  and  Color. 
Morality  of  Color  Appeal  in  Business. 


CHAPTEB  VIII    THE   PHYSICS  OF   COLOR  AND  COLOR 
PRINCIPLES     .     .     .-.'./- 174 

The  Source  of  Color.  The  Wave  Theory.  The  Trans- 
mission of  Color  Through  Space.  Retinal  Activity  and 
its  Limitations.  Non-Luminous  Bodies  Reflectors  of 
Light.  The  Redness  of  the  Rose.  The  Retina  and  the 
Physiological  Basis  of  Color.  Retinal  Nerve  Endings, 
Rods  for  Light,  Cones  for  Light  and  Color.  Color 
Blindness.  The  Mental  Phase  of  Color.  The  Psychology 
of  Color.  Subjective  Color,  "Seeing  Stars,"  Visions. 
After  Images  and  Successive  Contrast.  Retinal  Exhaus- 
tion through  Intensity  of  Light.  Retinal  Exhaustion 
through  Over-Exposure  to  One  Color.  Simultaneous  Con- 
trast of  Colors.  Color  Harmony. 


CHAPTER  IX    THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR  .     .184 

Knowing  What  to  Look  for  in  Color.  The  Three 
Dimensional  Character  of  Color.  The  Color  Cube.  The 
Art  Critic's  Question,  "What  is  Value."  Hue  De- 
nned, a  Synonym  for  Color.  Value  Denned,  the  Quan- 
tity of  Light  in  Color.  Intensity  or  Chroma,  the 
Purity  of  the  Color.  Value  in  Grays.  Spectrum 
Value  Scale,  Varying  Values  of  Pure  Colors.  Value 
Gradation  and  a  Given  Color.  Values  and  the  Realiza- 
tion of  Form.  Tints  the  Higher  Values  of  a  Color. 
Shades  the  Lower  Values  of  a  Color.  Values  in  a  Cube. 
Values  in  a  Cone  or  Sphere.  Influence  of  Reflection  on 
Values  in  Forms.  Value,  Intensity  and  the  Sense  of 
Distance.  Value  in  Black  and  White  Arts.  The  Art 
Student  and  Value.  Values  in  Painting.  Velasquez, 
Vermeer,  WThistler,  Masters  of  Color- Value.  Gradation 
in  Art,  Chiaroscuro,  Clear-obscure.  Value  in  Nature. 
Color  Symphonies  Played  by  the  Sun.  Color  Mixing. 
The  Hues  and  How  to  Mix  Them.  Pigment  Primaries, 
Pigment  Secondaries.  Intermediates.  How  to  Modify 
a  Hue  in  Value.  How  to  Modify  a  Hue  in  Intensity. 
Colors  Which  Gray  One  Another  in  Color  Mixing. 


CONTENTS  vii 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  X    NOMENCLATURE  AND  COLOR  STANDARDS  204 

Lack  of  Color  Standards.  Lovibond's  Color  Measure- 
ment. Munsell's  Color  Notation.  Munsell's  Color 
Sphere.  Hues  in  the  Sphere.  Values  in  the  Sphere. 
Chroma  or  Intensities  in  the  Sphere.  Munsell's  Color 
Nomenclature.  Munsell's  Color  Tree.  Value  of  Mun- 
sell's  System. 

CHAPTER  XI    COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS 213 

Retinal  Exhaustion  Through  Over  Stimulation.  Bal- 
ance of  Stimulation.  Primaries  and  Secondaries.  The 
Old  Complementaries  and  the  New.  Complementary 
Colors  and  Color  Attributes.  Warm  and  Cold  Colors. 
The  ^Esthete  and  Lemon  Yellow.  Activity  in  Colors, 
Advancing  and  Receding  Hues.  Activity  of  Colors  and 
"Plasticity."  Color  and  Weight,  Light  and  Heavy 
Colors.  Complementaries  in  Color  Harmony. 

CHAPTER  XII    SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST 224 

The  Interaction  of  Colors.  Color  not  an  Absolute. 
Simultaneous  Contrast  and  Dress.  The  Olive  Brunette 
and  the  Blue  Dress.  The  Blonde  and  the  Same  Blue 
Dress.  Tables  of  Simultaneous  Contrast.  Pigment  and 
Luminosity.  Petrouschka,  the  Yellow  Gown  and  the 
Purple  Tent.  The  "Moderns'"  Love  of  Intense  Colors. 
Puritanism  and  Negative  Harmony.  Positive  Harmony 
in  Bakst.  Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Impressionism  and 
in  Post  Impressionism.  Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Na- 
ture. Phases  of  Simultaneous  Contrast.  Simultaneous 
Contrast  of  Value  in  Grays.  Simultaneous  Contrast  of 
Value  in  Hues.  Grays  and  Hues.  Contrast  of  Colors 
as  Regards  Hue.  Contrast  of  Colors  as  Regards  Inten- 
sity. Pure  and  Dull  Areas  of  Same  Hue.  One  Pure 
and  One  Dull  Area  of  Different  Hue  (not  Complement- 
ary). Two  Pure  Areas  of  Different  Hue  (not  Comple- 
mentary). Two  Areas  of  Complementary  Hue.  A 
Warm  and  a  Cold  Color.  Contrast  as  Regards  Activity. 

CHAPTER  XIII    COLOR   HARMONY 239 

Color  Combination  vs.  Color  Organization.  Comple- 
mentarism  and  Simultaneous  Contrast  only  Starting 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Points.  Harmony  the  Goal  of  all  Endeavor.  Harmony 
Defined.  General  Laws  of  Harmony.  Forms  of  Order. 
Rhythm.  Color  Rhythm.  Flat  Color  vs.  Gradation. 
Color  Rhythm  in  Lines.  Direction  and  Gradation  of 
Lines.  Color  Rhythm  through  Parallelism.  Color 
Repetition,  Formal  and  Informal.  Rhythm  Towards  a 
Climax.  Balance.  Color  Balance.  Symmetry  in  Color 
Balance.  Radiation  in  Color.  Informal  Balance  of 
Colors,  Spotted  Areas.  Informal  Balance  of  Colors, 
Area  against  Area.  Balance  of  Hues.  Balance  of 
Values.  Balance  of  Intensities.  Balance  of  Warm  and 
Cold.  Balance  of  Advancing  and  Receding  Colors. 
Analysis  of  Complementaries  as  Regards  Balance  of 
Contrasts.  Danger  of  Rivalry  and  Confusion  in  Use  of 
Complementaries.  Proportion  Denned.  Proportion  in 
Quantity  of  Hues.  Proportion  in  Arrangement  of  Hues. 
Agreeable  Novelty  and  Experiment  in  Harmony. 

CHAPTER  XIV    CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES  ...  262 

Contrasts  in  Nature.  Color  "Refinement"  and  Timid- 
ity. Avoidance  of  Contrasts.  Mood  of  Contrasting 
Color  Schemes.  The  Time  Element  in  Contrasting 
Color  Schemes.  Distance  and  Contrasting  Color 
Schemes.  Function  and  Contrasting  Color  Schemes. 
Black  and  White;  Extreme  Value  Contrast.  The  Time 
Element  in  Black  and  White  Schemes.  Black  and  One 
Color.  White  and  One  Color.  Two  Color  Schemes. 
Modes  for  Harmonizing  Complementaries.  Rivalry. 
Dominance  in  Two  Color  Schemes.  Two  Colors  and 
Black.  Two  Colors  and  White.  Contrasting  Schemes 
of  Three  or  More  Colors.  Considerations  with  Fore- 
going. 

CHAPTER  XV    ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  ....  278 

Analogous  Color  Schemes  in  Nature.  Black  and 
White  Schemes.  Balance  in  Close  Grays.  Rhythmic 
Gradation  in  Close  Values  of  Gray.  Paneling,  Check- 
ing, Gradation.  Balance  of  Color  with  Grays.  Are  Har- 
monies in  One  Color  Possible?  Self-Tones.  Rhythm  and 
Balance  in  Self-Tones,  Textures.  Danger  of  Self-Tones. 
Two  Color  Schemes  Built  on  Complementaries.  Rivalry 
in  Two  Color  Schemes.  Two  Colors,  Related  or  Neigh- 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

boring  Hues.  Two  Related  Colors  and  Black.  Two  Re- 
lated Colors  and  White.  Complementaries  and  Black  or 
White.  Related  Colors  for  Details  in  Larger  Schemes. 
Three  Color  Schemes,  Complementary  and  Related. 
Analogous  Harmony  and  Interest. 


CHAFFER  XVI    THE  LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HARMONY  291 

Practical  Considerations  in  Color  Planning.  Fitness  in 
Structural  Design.  The  Laws  of  Fitness.  Fitness  to 
Purpose  or  Use  in  Design.  The  Fitness  of  Color  to  Pur- 
pose. Fitness  to  Material,  Limitations  of  Technique. 
Fitness  to  Material,  Regard  for  Texture.  The  Fitness 
of  Color  to  Material.  Fitness  to  Construction.  Fitness 
of  Color  to  Construction.  Congruity  or  Fitness  Part  of 
Color  Harmony. 


CHAPTER  XVII     COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS  .      .  300 

Rimington  and  his  Color  Organ.  Music  with  Color 
Accompaniment.  "E"  in  Music,  "Pearly  Blue  and 
Shimmer  of  Moonshine."  Differences  between  Color  and 
Music.  The  Musical  Expressiveness  of  Color.  Color 
Audition  and  Color  Analogies.  Earlier  Attempts  to 
Define  the  Moods  of  Colors.  The  Emotional  Associa- 
tions of  Light  and  Dark.  Color  Moods  Through  Descrip- 
tive Associations.  Inherent  Power  of  Colors,  Varying 
Retinal  Stimulation.  The  Mood  of  the  Hues.  Spectrum 
Colors  and  Associations  Suggested  to  the  Author. 
Values  and  Emotional  Suggestion,  Darkness  and  Mys- 
tery. Intensities  and  Color  Mood,  Grays  and  Refine- 
ment. The  Mood  of  Warmth  and  Coldness  in  Colors. 


CHAPTER  XVIII    COLOR  ILLUMINATION 310 

The  "Gay  White  Way"  a  Symbol.  Artificial  Day- 
light. Artistic  Applications  of  Colored  Illumination. 
Artificial  Light  in  the  Home.  Colored  Illumination  in 
Business.  Colored  Illumination  in  Streets.  Colored 
Lights  in  Fountains.  Colored  Searchlights  and  Clouds 
of  Steam.  Searchlights  on  Colored  Banners.  Colored 
Illumination  in  Trees.  Colored  Electric  Signs. 


x  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIX    COLOR  IN  THE  THEATER 323 

Color  Suggestion  vs.  Old-Fashioned  Setting.  Kismet 
and  Sumurun.  The  New  Principles  and  their  Expo- 
nents. Color  in  the  Russian  Ballet.  One  of  Urban's 
Color  Effects.  Musical  Revues  Saved  by  Color.  Color 
in  a  Dunsany  Play.  New  Ideas  in  Stage  Lighting. 

CHAPTEB  XX    COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY    ....  334 

Grown  Ups  Playing  with  Colors.  A  "Safe  and  Sane" 
Fourth.  An  Official  Celebration.  A  Block  Party.  Art 
Lacking  in  Celebrations.  A  Safe,  Sane  and  Beautiful 
Fourth.  The  Social  Value  of  Color  Appeal.  Color  in 
Recruiting.  Colored  Illumination  in  Holiday  Celebra- 
tions. 


INTRODUCTION 

This  book  is  addressed  to  that  ever  growing 
number  of  people  who  are  interested  in  color  and 
in  the  principles  of  its  agreeable  and  effective  use. 
In  an  increasing  number  of  homes  there  is  an 
awakened  feeling  for  harmony  in  interior  decora- 
tion. In  the  field  of  dress  women  are  seeking 
more  than  ever  before  to  achieve  personality  and 
independence,  and  to  combine  with  vogue  the  note 
of  self-expression.  In  the  field  of  business  there 
is  a  more  ample  recognition  of  the  part  played  by 
color.  The  appeal  of  colored  beads  to  the  Indians 
in  the  early  days  of  bartering  is  represented  to- 
day in  the  part  played  by  color  in  the  uses  of  the 
poster,  the  label,  the  circular  and  the  window  dis- 
play. In  the  theater  the  new  ideas  in  stage-set- 
ting, in  industry  the  search  for  dyes,  and  in  mili- 
tary tactics  the  important  role  played  by  camou- 
flage, all  have  tended  to  stimulate  the  recognition 
of  the  part  played  by  color  in  everyday  life. 

The  study  of  color  moreover  is  a  source  of  great 
pleasure,  opening  up  a  whole  world  of  sensations. 
In  the  author's  personal  experience  he  has  found 
that  the  habit  of  color  observation  has  given  to  his 
pupils  a  remarkable  expansion  of  interest.  Stu- 
dents, awakened  to  the  everyday  applications  of 

xi 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

color,  look  at  their  shirts,  their  ties,  the  dress  of 
women,  their  homes,  subway  posters,  magazine 
covers,  show  windows,  electric  signs,  theater  and 
business  interiors,  stage  settings  and  business  cir- 
culars, with  a  new  and  lively  interest.  Once  they 
recognize  that  color  is  a  force,  either  working  for 
the  man  who  employs  it  through  arousing  atten- 
tion agreeably  or  against  him  through  irritating 
the  attention  which  it  arouses,  their  observation 
is  stimulated,  the  habit  of  criticism  is  formed  and 
taste  is  developed  through  the  practice  of  judg- 
ment. Once  they  realize  nature's  endless  variety 
in  color  arrangements,  that  the  very  atmosphere 
varies  in  color,  a  walk,  even  through  a  city  street, 
becomes  a  series  of  optic  adventures. 

Everybody  uses  color.  At  all  points  we  are 
surrounded  by  it.  It  is  becoming  a  more  and 
more  deliberately  planned  factor  in  a  great  variety 
of  pursuits.  It  was  in  the  hope  that  a  primer  ef 
color  might  stimulate  a  fuller  appreciation  of  the 
hues  which  lend  enchantment  to  nature  and  to  art, 
and  point  the  way  to  a  more  harmonious  use  of 
these  hues  in  building  up  our  environment,  that 
the  author  undertook  this  work. 

In  the  field  of  color  literature  most  of  the  books 
or  articles  which  have  appeared  are  by  physicists, 
who  are  necessarily  technical  and  concerned  with 
color  analysis  and  color  measurement ;  by  physio- 
logists who,  equally  technical,  hypothesize  about 
the  functions  of  the  various  parts  of  the  retina, 
or  by  psychologists  who  record  most  painstaking 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

researches  into  "the  color  sensitivity  of  the  na- 
tives of  Egypt  and  Australia/'  "the  color  prefer- 
ences of  children, "  or  "the  effect  of  area  on  pleas- 
antness/' All  these  have  attempted  a  worth- 
while work  and  many  have  made  important  con- 
tributions to  our  knowledge  of  color. 

But  the  more  one  searches  the  more  one  mus't 
marvel  at  the  lack  of  any  popular  work  on  the 
practical  applications  of  color.  ChevreuPs  great 
contribution,  written  almost  a  hundred  years  ago, 
is  a  mine  of  ideas  organized  around  a  few  simple 
propositions  interpreted  in  terms  of  a  lifetime  of 
experience.  But  its  form  is  somewhat  discourag- 
ing to  the  modern  reader.  Special  manuals  of 
color  mixing  and  color  harmony  have  appeared, 
but  these  have  been  written  by  painters  for  paint- 
ers and  are  with  few  exceptions  rather  undigested 
even  within  their  own  province.  Vanderpoel's 
"Color  Problems, "  with  its  beautiful  plates,  ana- 
lyzing the  proportions  in  the  color  schemes  of  a 
number  of  objects  in  pottery,  weaving,  furniture 
and  painting  is  an  example  of  a  book  which  essays 
in  modern  form  a  broader  approach  than  the 
painters'  manuals.  In  Luckiesh's  "Color,  Its 
Applications,"  a  brief  resume  of  the  physics  and 
physiology  of  color  is  followed  by  a  very  valuable 
scientific  study  of  electrical  problems  in  color  illu- 
mination, color  matching,  mobile  color,  and  arti- 
ficial lighting.  Duveen's  "Color  in  the  Home"  is 
an  engaging  book  with  beautiful  color  plates  illus- 
trating some  of  the  principles  he  mentions. 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

This  however  is  the  first  modern  book  on  color 
which  enters  into  a  statement  of  color  principles 
from  the  point  of  view  not  only  of  color  combina- 
tion, but  also  of  color  fitness  and  color  arrange- 
ment. The  author  has  here  endeavored  to  state 
these  principles  and  then  to  show  their  applica- 
tions in  dress,  home  and  business.  Chapters  on 
color  in  the  theater,  color  music,  colored  illumina- 
tion, color  in  community  play,  are  merely  suggest- 
ive essays  on  the  part  played  by  color  in  these 
fields.  The  book  is  not  illustrated  with  model  in- 
teriors, model  dresses  or  model  posters,  but  rather 
with  diagrammatic  material  to  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciples which  apply  in  color  composition.  The 
colored  papers  enclosed  in  the  pocket  in  the  back 
of  the  book  can  be  used  for  a  large  variety  of  in- 
teresting experiments,  illustrating  the  physiology 
and  psychology  of  color.  The  experiments  are 
very  simple  and  can  be  made  a  source  of  entertain- 
ment and  pleasure  to  help  enliven  an  evening  at 
home.  This  will  be  particularly  true  when  the 
applications  of  the  principles  are  discussed  with 
reference  to  a  given  room,  dress,  or  business  de- 
tail. 

The  author  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to 
the  experimental  workers  in  the  physics,  physi- 
ology and  psychology  of  color,  notably,  however, 
to  Chevreul,  who  was  the  first  to  make  an  exhaust- 
ive study  of  the  law  of  color  contrast.  As  the 
book  has  grown  out  of  a  course  of  lectures  on 
"Color  and  Its  Applications,  Based  on  a  Study  of 


INTRODUCTION 


xv 


Museum  Originals,"  given  at  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  under  the  auspices  of  New  York 
University,  the  author  wishes  also  to  express  his 
sense  of  obligation  to  all  those  who  have  made  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  the  wonderful  treasury  of 
beauty  which  it  is. 

It  should  be  mentioned  as  a  feature  of  the  ar- 
rangement of  material  in  the  book  that  the  reader 
will  find  in  Chapters  II,  III  and  IV  a  simple  sum- 
mary statement  of  color  principles  presented  in 
the  most  elementary  form.  These  are  intended 
to  give  him  a  general  survey  of  the  field  and  should 
be  re-read  before  each  of  the  chapters  on  color  in 
the  home,  color  in  dress  and  color  in  business. 
The  material  contained  in  Chapters  II,  III  and  IV 
is  developed  in  much  greater  fullness  and  detail 
in  Chapters  VIII  to  XVI.  This  involves  consid- 
erable repetition,  but  it  is  hoped  the  reader  will  be 
indulgent,  as  repetition  is  in  this  field  a  prime 
means  to  a  fuller  grasp  of  the  subject. 

Many  applications  of  color  such  as  military 
camouflage,  the  subject  of  dyes,  the  detailed  study 
of  color  printing  and  its  problems  have  been  omit- 
ted as  of  too  highly  specialized  and  technical  a 
nature  for  inclusion  in  this  book.  Even  the 
author's  study  of  the  evolution  of  color  in  paint- 
ing which  was  originally  planned  as  part  of  this 
work  has  been  reserved  to  form  the  basis  for  a 
separate  work  soon  to  be  completed.  The  author 
mentions  these  omissions  and  reservations  to  in- 
dicate the  vast  scope  of  the  subject  of  color  which 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

opens  up  on  every  side  into  paths  which  can  be 
followed  for  the  vocational  and  professional  op- 
portunities or  for  the  pleasures  of  appreciation 
and  of  amateur  self-expression  which  they  af- 
ford. 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

CHAPTER  I 
COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

The  Practical  Application  of  Color.  The  most 
casual  thought  must  reveal  that  color  is  the  me- 
dium of  some  of  our  most  exquisite  sensations 
and  that  it  is  intimately  associated  with  our  most 
varied  moods.  And  yet,  the  part  played  by  color 
in  life  has  never  received  any  extensive  study. 
There  is  a  real  need  for  a  better  appreciation  and 
understanding  of  the  principles  of  color  and  color 
harmony  in  their  application  to  practical  prob- 
lems in  home,  dress  and  business,  and  much  could 
be  added  to  the  enjoyment  of  life  through  a 
greater  feeling  for  color  effects  both  in  nature 
and  in  art. 

Before  the  child  is  born,  little  touches  of  color 
are  being  embroidered  into  the  clothes  which  it 
will  wear.  From  the  cradle  on,  color  will  enter 
into  its  dress,  and  as  the  growing  child  is  called 
upon  to  think  for  itself,  the  choice  of  color  in 
clothes  will  be  an  abiding  problem  requiring  dis- 


4  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

crimination  and  taste  which  should,  if  possible,  be 
founded  on  knowledge. 

For  thousands  of  years  the  two  main  preoccu- 
pations of  women  have  been  the  problems  of 
dress  and  home.  In  show  room  and  window  dis- 
play, circular  and  poster  the  business  man  is 
learning  the  value  of  the  color  appeal.  Yet  the 
woman  seeking  to  create  a  beautiful  home  or  ac- 
quire an  artistically  effective  wardrobe  has  been 
taught  little  about  color  principles  and  their  appli- 
cation. The  business  man  whose  trade  may  de- 
pend in  part  upon  an  attractive  show  window,  a 
well  designed  interior,  a  colorful  label  or  box- 
cover,  is  forced  to  rely  either  upon  his  own  un- 
trained judgment  or  upon  an  "expert." 

We  speak  of  "the  useful  arts"  and  of  "the 
fine  arts, ' '  and  by  that  distinction  make  it  appear 
as  though  beauty  were  a  superfine  adornment 
added  to  life.  It  is  not  generally  recognized  that 
beauty  is  an  absolute  essential  sought  in  the 
things  of  comfort  and  necessity;  the  fork  and 
Jmife,  the  steam  radiator  and  the  automobile  body, 
;as  much  as  in  statues  and  cathedrals.  If  the  mar- 
ket value  of  color  in  business  were  duly  consid- 
ered, more  thought  would  be  given  to  it  in  our 
scheme  of  vocational  education.  If  its  value  in 
making  for  cheerfulness  in  the  home,  and  its  use- 
fulness in  enhancing  the  appeal  of  personality 
through  dress  were  better  understood,  it  would 
receive  at  least  as  much  general  and  popular  study 
and  consideration  as  music. 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  5 

The  Emotional  Appeal  of  Color.  Few  doubt 
the  place  of  music  in  life.  Songs  and  musical 
sounds  are  interwoven  with  our  sweetest  and  most 
intimate  memories.  But  the  mood  of  the  spring 
which  has  passed  or  of  the  autumn  which  is  ap- 
proaching, is  replete  with  associations  of  color. 
Just  as  certain  chords  and  rhythms  of  sound  seem 
grave  and  solemn,  martial  or  tender,  so  certain 
color  chords  or  color  sequences  arouse  moods, 
joyous,  pensive  or  melancholy. 

Color  Study  versus  Music  Study.  Very  few 
people  are  called  upon  to  express  themselves  in 
music.  Yet  many  of  the  girls  and  even  boys 
over  eight  in  the  homes  of  those  above  poverty, 
are  learning  to  play  the  piano  or  the  violin.  Each 
day  their  mothers  or  their  governesses  stand  over 
them,  exhorting  them  to  continue  practicing. 
With  what  result?  After  drilling  from  two  to  ten 
years,  for  an  hour  or  so  each  day,  a  skill  has  been 
acquired  which  in  many  cflases  one  year's  marriage 
serves  to  dissipate.  Almost  every  one  is  called 
upon  for  self-expression  in  color,  but  education 
in  the  principles  of  color  is  rare.  This  neglect  of 
color  study  in  favor  of  music  is  not  due  solely  to 
the  greater  emotional  appeal  of  music,  but  is  prob- 
ably an  educational  fad.  The  reader  may  remem- 
ber the  day  when  china-painting,  polite  water-col- 
ors and  embroidery,  were  essentials  in  the  edu- 
cation of  a  schoolgirl.  The  crazy  quilt,  the  stamp 
plate  and  the  gilded  shoes  which  at  that  time  hung 
from  chandeliers  attested  to  the  popular  interest 


6  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

in  color.  We  are  no  longer  repeating  the  old 
atrocities.  We  have  grown  more  refined  and  re- 
spectable in  our  tastes.  But  having  renounced  the 
old-fashioned  discords,  have  we  learned  how  to 
create  the  new  harmonies? 

The  New  Science  of  Color.  Color  harmony  to- 
day has  scientific  bases  in  physiology  and  psychol- 
ogy, and  there  is  no  reason  why  its  laws,  simply 
stated  and  explained,  cannot  be  taught  even  to  the 

-,  children  in  our  schools.  There  are  practical  peo- 
ple who  may  feel  that  they  do  not  need  to  concern 
themselves  with  color  theory  because  the  eye  is 
the  final  judge  of  color  harmony.  But  how  often 
have  these  very  people  ordered  a  dress  from  a 
piece  of  goods  which  looked  beautiful  in  their 
hands,  only  to  find  that  the  same  goods  made  up 
as  a  dress  was  not  becoming  to  them !  After  many 
errors  they  learned  that  they  must  avoid  certain 
colors.  A  knowledge  of  the  science  of  color  might 
have  saved  them  from  making  their  expensive  mis- 
takes. "But,"  insist  the  practical,  "why  worry 

'  about  learning  the  science  of  color,  why  attempt 
to  be  color  artists  when  art  is  the  province  of  the 
specialist?  If  we  need  advice  there  is  always  the 
artist  to  serve  us." 

Dependence  upon  Color  Experts.  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  the  artist,  the  "expert"  in  beauty, 
knows  very  little  about  the  principles  of  design  or 
of  color  harmony.  There  are  few  art  schools  in 
the  country  in  which  the  theory  of  color  and  the 
laws  of  order  and  fitness  are  studied  as  composi- 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  7 

tion  and  counterpoint  are  studied  in  a  musical  con- 
servatory. The  mere  acquisition  of  a  mechanical 
skill  in  copying  a  cast,  a  body,  a  face,  a  costumed 
figure  is  the  sole  aim  of  years  of  training.  The 
Japanese  girl  arranging  flowers  in  a  vase,  the 
woman  choosing  trimming  for  her  hat,  these  face 
the  conditions  of  design  and  color-expression 
much  more  closely  than  the  art-student  in  his 
school,  or,  for  that  matter,  most  artists  in  their 
studios,  who  mechanically  copy  from  their  models 
or  from  nature  without  much  object  other  than 
correctness  in  imitation.  Many  of  our  painters 
would  have  much  to  learn  before  they  could  be- 
come good  poster  designers.  The  women  are 
notoriously  careless  in  dress  design,  and  studios 
rarely  can  serve  as  examples  of  taste  in  interior 
decoration. 

The  Interior  Decorator  and  a  Detached  Good 
Taste.  Those  who  will  grant  the  justice  of  this 
arraignment  of  the  artists,  point,  however,  to  the 
interior  decorators.  Here,  it  may  be  claimed,  is 
a  growing  body  of  thinking  men  and  women  who 
seek  to  relate  their  art  to  the  conditions  of  life. 
But  too  many  interior  decorators  merely  assem- 
ble very  expensive  trimmings  and  furnishings, 
relying  more  on  the  beauty  of  the  material  than  on 
trained  judgment. 

Granting  that  with  an  improved  curriculum  in 
our  art  schools  we  would  have  more  experts  in 
color  and  design,  the  problem  of  art  in  life  would 
even  then  be  unsolved.  A  democracy  or  even  an 


8  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

aristocratic  patron  class. should  not  depend  upon 
a  detached  good  taste.  Whistler  remarked  that 
^'the  home  of  Mrs.  Y.  is  well  furnished;  not  that 
the  people  have  any  taste;  they  do  not  need  any. 
They  employ  some  one  who  knows,  but  there  is 
always  one  little  vase  on  the  mantel  which  gives 
the  whole  show  away." 

Beauty  in  Everyday  Life  among  the  Greeks. 
Great  artists  and  great  craftsmen  existed  when 
there  was  a  pervading  feeling  for  beauty  in  the 
people  and  in  their  daily  lives.  The  taste  of  the 
painters,  sculptors,  and  architects  of  Greece  was 
based  in  large  measure  upon  the  democratic  art 
of  its  primitive  pottery,  and  the  search  for  beauty 
in  the  simplest  utensils  of  daily  life.  The  primi- 
tive Greeks  who  wished  to  be  interred  in  a  vase  of 
perfect  proportions  and  shape,  after  a  life  in 
which  they  drank  their  water  as  well  as  their  wine 
from  beautiful  forms,  were  founding  a  tradition  of 
beauty  in  the  things  of  use,  which  was  bound  to 
extend  upward  to  every  form  of  construction  and 
finally  to  a  wonderful  flowering  in  "the  Fine 
Arts." 

Democracy  in  Color  Expression.  If  we  are  to 
achieve  democracy  in  art,  every  person  must  ap- 
proach color  expression,  whether  it  be  in  business 
or  home  decoration,  in  city  planning  or  in  dress, 
as  an  art  calling  for  love,  knowledge,  and  imagina- 
tion. This  is  not  merely  an  aesthetic  plea,  it  is 
an  ethical  plea.  For  the  artist's  attitude  towards 
life  is  a  deeply  religious  one,  with  a  great  regard 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  9 

for  the  worth  that  is  in  man,  the  dignity  of  life, 
and  the  value  of  love.  '  '  Pollyanna ' '  preaches  the 
philosophy  of  gladness.  Be  glad  that  it  was  only 
one  leg  lost,  or  only  one  parent  gone.  This  may 
be  a  useful  attitude  and  a  desirable  one,  but  it  is 
an  almost  impossible  one  to  anybody  who  is  not 
an  artist  in  life,  a  creative  worker,  expressing 
love  and  imagination  through  the  material  at  his 
disposal. 

Pollyanna  vs.  the  Artist  Attitude.  Not  "be 
glad,"  but  "be  creative  and  you  will  be  glad"  is 
the  keynote  to  a  fair  share  of  contentment  and  joy 
in  life.  Sensual  pleasures  satiate.  There  are 
times  when  sensuous  pleasures  and  appreciations 
tend  to  become  dulled.  But  the  sense  of  growing 
power  in  the  handling  of  the  material  which  one 
has  chosen  to  use,  makes  of  life  a  progressive  ad- 
venture, centered  and  purposeful. 

How  can  we  all  be  artists?  In  the  broad  sense 
of  the  word,  everybody  is  an  artist.  The  days,  the 
years,  the  environment,  the  accidents  of  fate  are 
the  material  with  which  we  work.  Time  is  the 
canvas.  What  is  created  upon  this  canvas  with 
the  given  material  is  the  test  of  artistic  skill. 

There  are  many  who  say,  "If  I  only  had  money; 
or  love,  or  sympathy,  or  influence,  or  two  years  in 
Paris,  what  wouldn't  I  accomplish!"  But  the 
test  is  not  what  they  would  accomplish  with  the 
means  which  are  not  at  their  disposal,  but  what 
they  can  create  with  the  means  which  are. 

The  Home  Builder  as  an  Artist.    In  the  special 


10  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

field  of  color  harmony  and  beauty  in  home  and 
dress,  many  women  explain  that  they  love  beauty 
but  cannot  achieve  it  because  they  cannot  afford 
it.  They  insist  that  if  they  could  afford  Oriental 
rugs  and  Persian  pottery  their  homes  would  be 
models,  "but  what  can  be  done  with  so  little 
money?  " 

Much  can  be  done.  More  necessary  than  money 
is  the  love  and  knowledge  of  color  and  design. 
Some  of  the  most  costly  homes  in  New  York  City 
would  look  pathetically  or  ridiculously  ugly  to  a 
poor  Japanese  artisan.  He,  with  love,  makes  a 
room  of  four-paneled  walls,  embellished  by  a  mat, 
a  vase  and  a  flower,  a  place  of  cheer.  The  mil- 
lionaire through  lavish  outlay  assembles  gold 
frames,  Chinese  paintings,  Aztec  idols,  and  crystal 
chandeliers,  "all  the  wealth  of  Ormuz  and  of 
Ind,"  only  to  achieve  a  tremendous  mass  of  in- 
congruities. 

Color  Judgment  and  Transformed  Homes. 
That  it  is  not  the  cost  of  the  material  but  the  art- 
ist's approach  to  its  selection  and  arrangement 
which  counts  in  home  planning  can  be  definitely 
demonstrated  by  this  suggestion.  Let  every 
woman  in  this  country  devote  one  half  of  her  next 
holiday  to  the  study  of  one  room  in  her  home; 
without  getting  any  new  material,  without  even 
increased  knowledge,  but  merely  with  intenser  and 
more  critical  effort,  what  a  change  would  come 
over  that  room !  The  first  thing  which  she  might 
observe  is  that  some  of  the  color  details  in  the 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  11 

room  could  be  removed  to  the  advantage  of  the 
general  effect.  That  is  certainly  not  costly.  Ex- 
periment would  prove  that  the  pictures  could  be 
hung  to  better  advantage,  the  hangings  could  be 
redraped  and  the  furniture  rearranged.  Kegard- 
ing  that  room  as  a  canvas  in  a  frame,  every 
housewife  working  at  its  harmony  in  this  spirit 
would  become  a  more  proficient  artist  because  a 
less  indifferent  one. 

If  without  increased  knowledge  and  without 
changed  material  the  homes  of  the  land  could  be 
improved  through  such  a  concentration  of  critical 
effort,  what  possibilities  are  opened  by  the  thought 
of  women  grown  conscious  of  their  position  as 
artists  in  home-building,  educated  to  an  under- 
standing of  color  principles  and  the  laws  of  de- 
sign. For  not  only  in  the  broad  sense  can  every 
one  be  an  artist  in  the  living  of  life,  but  every  one 
can  be  an  artist  in  the  more  technical  sense,  in  the 
choice  and  assembling  of  things. 

The  Home  a  Confession  of  Taste.  A  woman's 
home  is  a  confession  of  her  taste  and  of  her  love 
of  order  even  more  than  it  is  a  revelation  of  her 
purse.  The  most  lavish  purse  may  give  her  end- 
less opportunities  to  exhibit  her  weakness  of  judg- 
ment; a  very  moderate  one  will  make  possible  a 
home  which  would  be  like  a  chastely  designed 
painting  or  temple,  a  perfectly  proportioned,  har- 
moniously colored  and  beautifully  spaced  arrange- 
ment, agreeable  to  the  eye  and  cheering  to  the 
spirit. 


12  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Theatrical  Settings  in  the  Home.  In  recent 
years  there  has  been  a  growing  tendency  to  use 
pure  colors  in  home  decoration,  to  plan  the  home 
on  the  model  of  a  stage-setting  by  Urban  or  Bakst. 
Those  who  do  this  may  imagine  themselves  quite 
sophisticated  and  color-wise.  They  ridicule  the 
timid  who,  avoiding  pure  colors,  indulge  in  grays, 
browns,  blacks  and  whites.  But  the  acceptance  of 
a  vogue  of  strong  colors  may  also  be  a  sign  of 
timidity  if  it  is  prompted  merely  by  the  fear  of 
seeming  old-fashioned.  The  mere  use  of  intenser 
colors  does  not  make  one  a  "  modern "  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  word.  The  essence  of  a  truly  mod- 
ern use  of  color  is  a  truly  modern  knowledge  of 
color  properties. 

Color  and  Divorce.  The  following  anecdote 
apropos  of  interior  decoration  may  seem  to  make 
extreme  claims  for  the  power  of  color  in  the  home, 
but  it  is  probably  not  altogether  far-fetched. 
Two  college  chums  met  after  a  lapse  of  years. 
One  was  married  and  in  business.  The  other  was 
a  color  chemist  in  a  pottery  firm.  In  the  course 
of  a  long  chat,  the  married  one  who  was  under 
great  tension  forgot  reserve,  and  confessed  to  his 
old  friend  that  there  was  incompatibility  at  home 
and  that  he  saw  no  way  out  but  divorce.  Ques- 
tions soon  revealed  that  nothing  more  serious  than 
a  case  of  nerves  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  domestic 
difficulties. 

That  evening  the  chemist,  dining  at  the  home  of 
his  friend,  remarked  in  the  course  of  conversa- 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  13 

tion  when  the  two  were  alone,  "This  red  room  is 
enough  to  drive  anybody  who  must  live  in  it  quite 
mad.  You  do  not  need  a  change  of  wife ;  what  you 
need  is  a  change  of  wall-paper. " 

Chromo  Therapy  or  Color  Healing.  Those  wlu> 
are  not  especially  sensitive  to  color  are  not  likely 
to  realize,  as  did  the  color  chemist,  the  peculiarly 
irritating  properties  of  certain  colors  and  color 
combinations.  They  may  suffer  without  suspect- 
ing the  cause.  The  ultra-violet  rays  which  are  in 
reality  invisible  colors  are  much  used  in  healing, 
and  there  are  physicians  who  believe  that  visible 
colors  may  possess  medicinal  properties.  Retinal 
activity  is  intimately  related  to  nervous  condi- 
tions, and  the  subject  of  color  in  relation  to  heal- 
ing may  prove  to  be  well  worth  the  closest  inves- 
tigation. 

Woman  as  an  Artist  in  Dress.  In  the  case  of  the 
troubled  home  and  its  irritating  wall-paper,  one 
may  suspect  that  the  nerves  of  the  wife  were  fur- 
ther put  on  edge  by  the  problem  of  her  clothes. 
Women  can  sympathize  with  her  in  the  tension  and 
anxiety  attendant  on  the  adventure  of  a  new  dress. 
How  many  anxious  hours  are  spent  between  the- 
day  when  she  first  buys  the  goods  across  a  counter 
and  the  moment  when  she  sees  it  at  last  in  the 
finished  gown  upon  her  figure.  One  glance  tells 
her  the  sad  answer;  another  mistake;  she  knows 
instantly  that  under  no  circumstances  will  she- 
wear  that  dress. 

Lack  of  Color  Knowledge  in  Dress.    Does  she* 


14  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

learn  her  lesson?  Does  she  know  the  reason  why 
the  color,  so  attractive  on  the  model,  makes  her 
eyes  look  dull,  her  hair  faded,  and  her  face  weak! 
Only  vaguely.  In  her  very  next  dress  she  is  likely 
to  repeat  a  variation  of  the  same  error.  The  color 
may  be  different,  but  the  principle  violated  may  be 
the  same.  Yet  in  spite  of  her  many  heartaches 
due  to  dresses  which  did  not  turn  out  right,  if 
asked  what  there  is  to  color  harmony  in  dress,  she 
would  repeat  the  old  formula  about  making  the 
color  of  the  dress  match  the  eyes. 

The  Eyes  and  a  Popular  Fallacy.  There  is  a 
common  notion  among  many  women  that  the  prob- 
lem of  color  harmony  in  dress  is  quite  a  simple 
one  and  that  it  can  be  summed  up  in  the  one  sen- 
tence: "Make  the  color  of  the  dress  match  the 
color  of  the  eyes."  Even  dress  designers,  on 
being  questioned  by  the  author  as  to  their  ideas  on 
color,  have  used  the  same  formula.  The  barest 
analysis  of  this  quick  and  ready  means  for  achiev- 
ing dress  harmony  reveals  its  complete  failure  to 
meet  the  facts.  In  the  first  place,  even  if  in  a 
sense  true,  this  formula  is  certainly  quite  limited 
in  that  it  prescribes  one  color  for  each  person.  If 
it  were  followed,  all  blue-eyed  women  would  wear 
blue;  brown-eyed  women,  brown;  black-eyed 
women,  black ;  gray-eyed  women,  gray.  But  if  we 
except  the  case  of  the  blue-eyed  wearing  blue,  the 
theory  does  not  apply  in  the  least,  for  in  not  a 
single  other  case  does  such  a  correspondence  of 
•colors  necessarily  give  a  happy  combination^  In 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  15 

fact,  we  shall  see  that  in  the  case  of  the  brown- 
eyed,  a  dark  brown  would,  in  many  cases,  be  taboo. 
Here,  then,  in  this  one  short  summary  of  the  whole 
of  women 's  conscious  knowledge  of  color,  the  need 
of  a  new  attitude  and  a  more  scientific  approach 
becomes  apparent. 

Personality  and  Color  in  Dress.  Color  in  dress 
is  a  prime  means  to  providing  a  frame  and  setting 
for  the  personality  of  the  wearer,  and  calls  for 
an  artistic  skill  in  adapting  the  material  to  meet 
the  decorative  requirements.  Colors  may  make 
the  short  and  the  stout  seem  less  stocky;  the  tall 
and  over-slim  seem  fuller.  It  may  set  off  the  face 
so  that  the  eyes  and  hair  take  on  an  added  lustre, 
the  skin  a  warmer  glow.  It  may  soften  the  facial 
lines  of  the  woman  whose  features  are  "edgy"; 
it  may  accentuate  the  somewhat  diffuse  charm  of 
a  sweet  young  girl. 

Color  in  dress  may  express  mood  just  as  color 
in  painting  does.  Color  may  impart  a  sense  of 
light  airiness  and  youthful  freshness.  It  may  be 
made  vital  and  emphasize  the  magnetism  of  eyes 
and  expression.  It  may  accent  the  note  of  elusive- 
ness  and  subtlety  in  one  character,  the  genial 
warmth  and  good  nature  of  another. 

Colors  must  be  selected  more  with  concern  for 
complexion,  features,  character  of  expression  and 
personality  than  with  reference  to  the  eyes.  The 
subtle  interaction  between  colors,  whereby  one 
color  will  make  a  blonde  seem  sallow  and  another 
will  make  her  skin  seem  charmingly  pearl-tinted, 


16  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

are  not  so  easily  to  be  caught  in  the  phrase,  "make 
the  color  match  the  eyes." 

The  Business  Man  as  Color  Artist.  A  man  is 
quite  likely  to  think  of  color  as  something  which 
belongs  to  "art"  and  therefore  as  too  "effemi- 
nate" a  matter  to  receive  the  consideration  of  a 
practical  person.  Yet  in  his  large  store  for  which 
he  pays  a  rental  of  twelve  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
the  value  of  a  show  window  at  a  busy  corner  may 
have  been  estimated  at  eight  thousand.  That  win- 
dow is  his  silent  salesman,  either  efficient  and  busi- 
ness-producing, earning  its  cost  over  and  over,  or 
inefficient  and  business-losing.  If  the  maximum 
selling  power  of  a  window  were  to  be  represented 
as  one  hundred,  his  window,  dressed  without  a 
conviction  as  to  the  drawing  power  of  color  and 
without  knowledge  of  its  most  effective  use,  may 
be  operating  at  twenty-five  per  cent,  or  less  of  its 
maximum  efficiency. 

Man  as  well  as  woman  should  be  interested  in 
color  harmony  in  dress,  for  within  the  limited 
range  of  his  color  schemes  there  is  still  room  for 
the  application  of  color  principles.  He  should 
also  be  interested  in  the  application  of  color  har- 
mony to  the  home,  planning  its  effects  with  his 
wife.  But  in  the  field  of  business,  which  is  en- 
gaging the  expert  thought  of  men  to-day,  there  are 
few  lines  in  which  a  knowledge  of  color  is  not  es- 
sential. The  business  man  uses  color,  and  pays 
dearly  for  its  use.  He  should  be  in  a.  position  to 
judge  whether  the  colors  employed  are  effective. 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  17 

The  Store  Interior  Color  Schemes  and  Patron- 
age. The  importance  of  color  in  business  can  be 
demonstrated  in  a  number  of  ways.  Five  firms 
each  run  a  chain  of  lunchrooms  in  a  large  city. 
All  things  are  equal ;  choice  of  location,  cleanliness, 
food,  service.  They  are  near  enough  to  one  an- 
other to  be  rivals  for  the  same  patronage.  But 
one  thing  is  unequal;  the  color  effect  in  two  of 
these  is  depressing,  in  one  it  is  fair,  in  another  it 
is  good,  in  the  fifth  it  is  excellent,  very  cheerful 
and  stimulating.  Although  we  may  assume  that 
few  of  the  tens  of  thousands  who  patronize  these 
places  are  consciously  aware  of  any  differences, 
subconsciously  the  color  schemes  would  operate  to 
the  advantage  of  the  one  chain  and  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  others  in  exact  ratio  to  their  qual- 
ity. 

A  certain  New  York  firm  on  Fifth  Avenue  has 
become  one  of  the  most  attractive  spots  on  that 
busy  thoroughfare  through  the  use  of  mural  deco- 
rations as  a  background  for  exquisite  window  dis- 
play. The  attentive  crowds  which  are  held  by  its 
windows  prove  that  in  a  department  store,  color 
effectively  used  can  become  an  important  asset. 
The  manager  himself  should  understand  color  so 
as  to  be  able  to  judge  the  taste  of  the  buyers  he 
employs  in  the  various  departments.  He  should 
be  in  a  position  to  judge  the  advertising  value  of 
the  circulars  sent  out.  In  the  mail  announcing  an 
exhibition  of  gowns  designed  for  his  firm  by 
Madame  X.  there  will  be  twenty  other  such  an- 


18  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

nouncements.  The  color  scheme  of  his  announce- 
ment may  hold  the  attention  of  the  recipient  and 
make  the  difference  between  a  casual  glance  and  a 
careful  reading. 

A  firm  wishes  to  advertise  an  exquisite  perfume 
by  means  of  subway  posters.  Shall  the  posters 
be  strikingly  bold  and  rich  in  color  harmony? 
Such  a  scheme  would  catch  the  eye,  but  would  it 
suggest  the  refinement  and  subtlety  of  aroma 
which  needs  to  be  conveyed?  A  refined  color 
scheme,  on  the  other  hand,  would  be  ineffective 
through  its  relative  quiet  and  unobtrusiveness. 
What  is  the  solution?  A  study  of  the  science  of 
color  will  give  the  answer. 

Color  Novelty  in  an  Advertising  Campaign.  A 
firm  has  a  new  beverage  to  promote.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  are  convinced  that  the  drink  is 
good.  The  problem  of  advertising  is  how  to  con- 
vince the  public.  A  novel  idea  is  sought.  Ad- 
vertising men  frequently  put  the  ideas  into  their 
copy.  But  why  not  put  the  idea  into  the  bottle? 
Something  odd  in  color,  something  that  once  seen 
will  not,  cannot  be  forgotten ;  something  that  can 
be  incorporated  into  the  very  color  of  the  bottle 
itself.  Let  this  again  be  advertised  by  a  display 
bottle  containing  a  mechanical  device  for  lighting 
up  the  bottle  from  within.  That  glow,  radiant, 
warm,  and  exotic,  would  catch  and  hold  the  atten- 
tion. The  name  and  drink  would  be  fixed  upon  the 
memory.  Sooner  or  later,  through  this  type  of 
advertising,  the  beverage  would  be  popular. 


COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE  19 

Color  and  the  Art  of  Appreciation.  One  of  the 
most  important  aspects  of  color  in  daily  life  lias 
been  only  hinted  at  in  the  foregoing.  Many  as 
are  the  pleasures  and  even  profits  derived  from 
the  skilful  use  of  color,  expression  in  color  is  lim- 
ited to  time  and  place.  But  color  observation,  the 
sensitive  response  to  color,  the  enjoyment  of  the 
endlessly  varied  effects  in  nature,  in  art  and  in  our 
daily  environment, — this  is  a  pleasure  which  can 
enrich  experience,  bringing  to  any  moment,  almost 
at  any  place,  swift,  keenly  felt  thrills  which  make 
for  the  fullness  of  life.  Pottery,  rugs,  textiles, 
painting,  sculpture,  even  architecture  reveal  infi- 
nite gradations  of  color  charm  to  the  eye  trained 
to  the  observation  of  color  harmony. 

And  what  an  endless  spectacle  of  color  novel- 
ties Nature  provides, — from  the  faint  grays  tinged 
with  the  rose  of  dawn  to  the  glaring  shrill  notes 
of  high  noon,  to  the  soft  mysteries  of  the  cool, 
blue  night.  Leaves,  flowers,  sea-shells,  the  ears 
of  babes,  the  hair  of  maidens,  the  eyes  of  women, 
moon-lit  walls,  mist-laden  valleys  and  cloud- 
capped  mountains, — all  the  myriad  forms  of  Na- 
ture reveal  a  myriad  subtleties  of  color  in  the  ever 
changing  play  of  light  and  atmosphere. 


CHAPTER  II 
WHAT  COLOR  IS  AND  HOW  IT  ACTS 


The  Nature  of  Color.1  All  objects  are  either 
luminous  or  non-luminous.  Luminous  bodies  like 
the  sun  and  stars  radiate  light.  Non-luminous 
bodies  like  a  face  or  a  rose  reflect  light.  The  sun 
and  all  luminous  bodies  are  visible  because  of  the 
light  which  they  radiate.  The  face,  the  rose  and 
all  non-luminous  bodies  are  visible  because  of  the 
light  which  they  receive  from  luminous  bodies 
and  which  they  then  reflect. 

In  the  light  which  comes  from  the  sun  there  are 
many  colors;  violet,  blue,  green,  yellow,  orange 
and  red  and  their  intermediates,  red-violet,  violet- 
blue,  blue-green,  yellow-green,  yellow-orange,  and 
orange-red.  This  fact  can  be  demonstrated  by 
holding  a  crystal  glass,  such  as  is  used  as  a  pend- 
ant in  the  old  chandeliers,  over  the  white  margin 
of  this  page.  If  this  is  done  in  the  sunlight,  the 
light  of  the  sun  in  passing  through  the  crystal  will 
be  broken  up  and  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  will 
appear  upon  the  margin.  The  rainbow  in  the 
heavens  is  due  to  the  same  breaking  up  of  sunlight 
by  raindrops  acting  as  crystals.  Colors  then  exist 

iThis  chapter  summarizes  Chapters  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI  and  XII. 
See  introduction,  page  XV. 

20 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  21 

in  light,  and  white  light  is  the  composite  result  of 
the  colors  previously  listed. 

Why  the  Rose  is  Red.  If  white  light  which 
contains  all  these  colors  shines  on  a  piece  of  ebony 
or  on  a  rose,  why  is  the  ebony  black  and  the  rose 
red?  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  objects  react 
differently  to  the  light  which  falls  upon  them. 
Some  objects  like  dull  ebony  absorb  almost  all  the 
light  which  they  receive,  and  others  like  the  rose 
absorb  part  of  the  light  and  throw  off  the  rest. 

The  Rose  is  Red  because  It  has  no  Affinity  for 
Red.  It  is  red  because  of  all  the  colors  which  are 
in  the  light  which  strikes  it,  red  is  the  one  color 
for  which  it  has  no  use.  So  it  absorbs  the  violet, 
blue,  green,  yellow  and  orange  components  of  the 
white  light,  and  reflects  or  throws  off  the  red  which 
is  in  the  light.  Likewise  the  cornflower  absorbs 
all  the  colors  in  light  but  blue,  which  it  throws  off. 
The  golden-rod  absorbs  all  the  colors  but  yellow. 
No  matter  how  startling  the  fact  may  seem  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  the  colors  which  we  so  ad- 
mire in  objects,  the  colors  by  which  we  know  ob- 
jects, are  the  colors  for  which  those  objects  have 
no  use. 

Color  and  the  Eye.  It  was  just  stated  that  the 
rose  appears  red  because  it  reflects  red.  But  a 
red  rose  does  not  appear  red  to  some  people. 
Men  who  must  recognize  signals  are  tested  to  see 
whether  they  can  distinguish  between  colors. 
This  is  done  because  although  an  object  reflects 
red,  the  object  will  not  be  seen  as  red  by  people 


22  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

who  hav&  no  nerve  endings  which  respond  to  red. 
This  fact  of  color-blindness  and  other  experiments 
seem  to  prove  that  certain  nerve  endings  which 
line  the  retina  of  the  eye  are  especially  sensitive 
to  color ;  and  that  some  of  these  nerve  endings  are 
more  sensitive  to  one  color  than  to  another. 

There  are  green  color-blind  people  deficient  in 
nerve  endings  sensitive  to  green,  red  color-blind 
people  deficient  in  nerve  endings  sensitive  to  red, 
and  there  are  totally  color-blind  people  to  whom 
the  world  is  colorless  and  all  objects  are  seen  as 
grays,  ranging  from  white  to  black.  It  is  sus- 
pected that  there  was  a  time  when  all  people  were 
color-blind,  that  they  responded  to  the  world  only 
as  light  and  dark,  and  that  the  development  of 
retinal  sensitiveness  to  color  has  been  acquired 
quite  slowly  through  the  ages. 
[A  study  of  the  practical  uses  of  color  must  be 
based  quite  largely  upon  the  effect  which  given 
color  combinations  have  upon  the  eye.^  In  the 
same  sense  that  sounds  may  irritate  or  please  the 
ear,  so  colors  may  irritate  or  please  the  eye  purely 
as  a  matter  of  immediate  nerve  reaction.  The 
nerve  endings  in  the  retina  which  respond  to  col- 
ors may  be  quite  as  much  hurt  by  the  shock  of  cer- 
tain color  combinations  as  the  ear  is  hurt  by  the 
noise  due  to  scratching  on  glass. 

Eye  Fatigue  and  Color  Complement aries.  Im- 
portant in  its  application  to  the  every-day  uses 
of  color  is  the  fact  that  given  retinal  nerve 
endings  can  very  easily  be  fatigued  through  over- 


PLATL  II 


COMPLEMLNTAR15M  ANt>:LVL  FATIGUL 


TL5T5   WITM    COLORE.D  5L1 P5 


As  red  is   withdrawn 

blue   green 

here 


The  5haded  portion  represents  the  a^rea  of 
the  colored  "&fler  im  a.ge"  or  "  after  percept" 
which  d,ppea,rs  in  ea>ch  case 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  23 

stimulation  by  the  color  to  which  they  are  espe- 
cially sensitive.  Pure  red,  yellow  or  orange  will 
fatigue  and  irritate  the  eye  sooner  than  will  blue, 
violet  or  green,  but  any  color  will  cause  this  fa- 
tigue if  kept  in  the  field  of  vision  too  long. 

The  advertiser  seeking  effectiveness  in  a  circu^ 
lar,  the  woman  searching  for  novelty  in  the  color 
scheme  of  her  home  or  her  dress,  will  realize  the 
importance  of  an  understanding  of  the  nature  of 
eye  fatigue  and  the  dangers  of  over  stimulation  of 
the  eye.  The  eye  demands  a  certain  balance  of 
colors  if  it  is  not  to  be  irritated  to  the  point  of 
fatigue.  An  important  clue  to  the  attainment  of 
this  balance  will  now  be  considered. 

Experiment  with  the  colored  slips  in  the  back 
of  the  book  will  reveal  the  nature  of  eye-fatigue. 
One  such  experiment  will  be  described.  This  ex- 
periment can  be  repeated  with  different  colors  and 
the  results  in  each  case  noted.  Let  the  reader  take 
the  brightest  red  slip  and  hold  it  against  a  white 
sheet,  so  that  it  only  partly  covers  the  white. 
Now  look  at  the  red  steadily  for  about  a  minute 
and  a  very  pale  bluish  green  fringe  will  appear 
along  the  edge  of  the  bright  red  paper.  (See 
Plate  II.)  Then  slowly  withdraw  the  red,  and 
observe  upon  the  white  paper  beneath  the  red  a 
decidedly  bluish-green  cast.  The  result  of  this 
and  similar  experiments  with  the  other  papers- 
can  be  tabulated  as  follows: 

Red  will  cause  a  blue  green  to  appear  on  white 
Blue  green  will  cause  a  red       "       "         "       " 


24  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Blue  will  cause  a  yellow  to  appear  on  white 

YeUow  will  cause  a  blue  "       "         "       " 

Green  will  cause  a  violet  "       "         "       " 

Violet  will  cause  a  green  "       <(         "       " 

The  fringe  of  a  second  color  which  results 
from  long  gazing  at  one  color  against  white  is 
explained  as  due  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  nerve 
endings  which  respond  to  the  colored  slip.  In 
looking  at  the  red  against  the  white  paper,  the 
nerve  endings  responding  to  red  grow  tired  and 
the  eye  then  begins  to  see  in  the  white  page  only 
part  of  the  colors  which  it  reflects.  The  white 
page  is  reflecting  red,  blue  and  green  rays.  As 
some  of  the  nerve  endings  in  the  eye  have  been 
exhausted  by  the  red  rays  which  have  been  excit- 
ing them,  the  eye  responds  more  fully  to  the  blue 
and  green  rays  which  come  from  the  white  page. 
This  blue-green  which  results  from  over-exposure 
to  red  is  called  the  complementary  of  red.  When 
the  eye  is  over-exposed  to  blue,  the  nerve  endings 
respond  more  fully  to  the  red  and  green  in  the 
light.  As  red  and  green  mix  to  produce  yellow, 
yellow  is  the  complementary  color  to  blue.  Green 
and  violet  are  also  complementaries.  Comple- 
mentaries  are  colors  which  together  sum  up  as 
white  light,  and  tend  to  produce  a  balanced  stimu- 
lation of  the  nerve  endings  of  the  eye. 

It  will  be  realized  from  the  foregoing  that  color 
complementarism  is  of  prime  importance  in  select- 
ing color  schemes.  There  is,  however,  great  dan- 
ger in  the  use  of  pure  complementaries.  Colors 


PLATE.  HI 


R.ED 


ACTIVITY  OF 


TE5T5   WITH    COLORED   £ 
r _JL_ r__.  .  ; 


XE.UOW 


ORANGE: 


BLUt 


GRIEN 


VIOLET 


R..V.O.     ADVANCING     will   carry   further   than 

D.G.v.    R.E:CLDING 


PUR.E. 

COLO  R 


SAME. 


Pure  color  will 
further  than    same 
color    prayed 
(If  both  are    equal   in 
v&lue) 


A  light  color    will 
carry   best  on  black 
or  any  d&rk.   color 
(if   both    are    ecj 
pure) 


HIGH 
VALUE. 
COlOft 


X.OW 
VAUUE 


A 


A  dark,  color   will 
carry/    best  on  white 
or  a.ny    lifiht    color 
(if  both  are    equally 
pure) 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  25 

have  given  qualities.  The  complementary  colors 
used  pure  present  the  most  extreme  contrast  of 
these  qualities,  and  are  therefore  quite  likely  to 
offend  through  the  shock  of  their  differences. 

The  Qualities  of  Color.  Colors  differ  as  re- 
gards their  force.  Some  colors  are  active,  force- 
ful and  advancing;  others  are  passive,  timid  and 
receding.  Colors  differ  as  regards  their  sugges- 
tion of  warmth.  Some  are  warm  or  even  hot  in 
suggestion ;  others  are  cool  or  even  cold.  Colors 
also  differ  as  regards  their  suggestion  of  weight. 
Some  seem  heavy  and  ponderous,  others  light  and 
airy. 

Force  in  Colors.  To  test  the  activity  of  colors, 
pin  a  pure  red,  a  yellow,  an  orange,  a  blue,  a 
green  and  a  violet  slip  upon  the  wall  and  stand 
at  the  opposite  side  of  the  room.  Now  see  which 
of  these  " carry"  best.  It  will  be  found  that  the 
orange  and  red  are  decidedly  advancing  and  can 
be  seen  most  clearly  as  color.  Yellow  is  also  ad- 
vancing, but  the  lack  of  contrast  between  yellow 
and  white  may  fail  to  reveal  this.  The  blue,  green 
and  violet  are  relatively  receding,  for  though  they 
will  carry  as  dark  spots,  their  color  quality  will 
not  be  very  clear.  (See  Plate  III.) 

Advertisers,  window  dressers,  even  interior 
decorators  must  reckon  with  this  quality  of  color 
as  it  may  play  a  very  important  part  in  their  prob- 
lems. A  small  room  designed  in  advancing  colors 
will  seem  smaller.  It  will  be  shrunk  by  the  fact 
that  the  colors  crowd  in  upon  the  eye.  The  store- 


26  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

keeper  on  the  "off  side"  of  the  street  might  well 
resort  to  advancing  colors  in  his  show-window, 
outside  window  frame  and  signs,  as  these  would 
carry  across  the  street  and  overcome  the  handicap 
of  location.  The  designer  of  fence  posters  in- 
tended to  be  read  by  passing  automobilists  should 
experiment  with  his  colors  to  test  their  force  and 
power  of  advancing  or  "carrying." 

Complementary  colors  when  pure  present  a 
sharp  contrast  in  this  respect,  e.g.,  yellow  is  ex- 
tremely advancing  against  blue ;  red  is  very  active 
against  blue  green.  Pure  green  and  violet,  how- 
ever, do  not  contrast  so  sharply  when  placed  one 
against  the  other. 

Heat  in  Colors.  If  all  the  colored  slips  in  this 
book  were  pinned  up  and  any  group  of  people, 
young  or  old,  were  asked  to  record  individually 
which  of  the  colors  seemed  warm  and  which 
seemed  cool,  it  would  be  found  that  with  almost 
absolute  accord  they  would  agree  that  the  reds, 
yellows,  oranges  and  their  compounds  are  warm, 
and  that  the  blues,  blue-greens  and  blue-violets 
are  cold.  Yellow-green  and  red-violet  would  gen- 
erally be  called  warm.  Grayed  colors  would  be 
called  warm  or  cool  as  they  ran  towards  yellow, 
red  and  orange  on  the  one  hand,  or  towards  blue, 
green  and  violet  on  the  other. 

This  quality  of  colors  is  also  very  important  in 
planning  color  schemes.  It  will  be  found  that 
though  people  generally  seem  to  like  blue  and 
speak  of  green  as  restful,  most  people  would  be 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  27 

repelled  by  a  room  interior,  a  poster,  a  circular 
or  a  stage-setting  which  ran  all  to  pure  blues  and 
greens.  For  just  as  the  plant  turns  towards  the 
sun,  it  will  be  found  that  man  is  inclined  to  prefer 
a  note  of  warmth  in  a  color  scheme.  In  a  summer 
home,  cool  grays  may  be  deliberately  employed  to 
off -set  the  fatigue  which  the  eye  has  been  exposed 
to  on  the  blazing  stretches  of  the  beach  or  on  the 
dazzling  rocks.  The  coolness  of  the  colors  may 
even  have  a  psychological  effect  through  associ- 
ation. But  the  love  of  red  roses,  yellow  daisies 
and  the  warm  colors  of  flowers  generally  is  a  sym- 
bol of  the  joy  which  the  eye  takes  in  an  area  of 
eye-stimulating  warmth. 

i  ^  The  good  color  scheme  is  built  upon  a  balance  of 
\  warm  and  cool  notes  and  is  neither  flushed  nor 
cold.  But  complementary  pairs,  when  used  pure 
present  an  extreme  contrast  of  warmth  and  cold- 
ness which  is  rather  unpleasant.  Thus  yellow  is 
warm,  blue  is  cold ;  red  is  warm,  blue  green  is  cold. 
Green  and  violet  do  not  present  quite  so  sharp  a 
contrast  in  this  respect. 

Weight  in  Colors.  Colors  differ  in  their  sug- 
gestion of  weight.  If  the  reader  will  once  again 
resort  to  the  colored  slips,  a  large  number  of  ex- 
periments can  be  carried  out  to  determine  which 
of  the  colors  seem  heavier.  The  nature  of  the~ 
experiment  is  simple.  Hold  a  gray  slip  against  a 
red  so  that  four  inches  of  the  red  show  above  the 
five  and  a  half  inches  of  the  gray.  Hold  the  two 
vertically  so  that  they  will  suggest  a  scheme  for 


28  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

paneling  a  room,  a  broad  red  border  above  a  gray 
woodwork.  It  becomes  obvious  that  the  red  is  too 
heavy  for  the  gray.  Move  the  gray  up  so  that 
only  one  inch  of  red  shows;  the  gray  now  seems 
able  to  support  the  red  more  easily.  Substitute 
for  the  red  a  pale  pink  and  the  gray  can  now  be 
moved  down  again,  since  the  pink  will  seem  lighter 
in  weight  than  the  red,  and  five  and  a  half  inches 
of  gray  will  easily  support  two  or  even  two  and  a 
half  inches  of  pink. 

The  experiment  can  be  tried  with  many  different 
combinations  and  the  importance  of  this  element 
of  weight  in  colors  will  become  most  apparent. 
If  in  the  mood  for  psychological  investigation,  the 
reader  can  help  to  stimulate  color  thinking  by  try- 
ing these  combinations  on  visitors  as  an  hour's 
pastime.  Ten  or  more  different  combinations 
could  be  given  separately  to  each  of  the  subjects 
to  manipulate  as  above  until  adjudged  balanced  in 
weight.  The  answers  can  then  be  noted.  It  will 
prove  most  interesting  to  all  to  see  how  much 
agreement  there  has  been,  upon  the  proportion  of 
one  color  needed  to  support  the  weight  of  the  other. 

Top-heaviness  in  a  hat,  a  book-cover  design,  a 
poster,  a  room  interior  or  a  painting  will  result 
from  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  quality  of  appar- 
ent weight  in  colors.  A  room  may  be  made  to 
seem  much  lower  through  the  weight  of  the  colors 
in  the  upper  areas.  Pure  colors  seem  heavier  than 
the  same  colors  grayed ;  dark  colors  seem  heavier 
than  light  colors.  ( See  Plate  IV. ) 


PLATE.       IV 


BALANCE-    OF 


TLST5     WITH     COLORED      &LIP5 


"BLACK 


BLACK 


RLO 
CLOW 


PUR.E: 


BLACK 


BLACK 


DARK 
GR.E.E.N 


these    illustrations     do    not    represent     measured    state- 
ments. They    merely     Indicate    the    principle   of    balance 
of   weight    which    applies    In    color    composition.    The 
paneling    o^&    wall     or  a    dress,  the    lay-out     oF    a 
circular,    the     color    note     oF   a    'hat,    oFFer    problems 
tn     the     balance     oF    welohb     in     colors. 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  29 

The  Law  of  Simultaneous  Contrast.  It  has  been 
seen  how  important  is  the  fact  of  color  comple- 
mentarism  in  the  choice  of  color  schemes.  At 
least  equally  important  is  the  law  of  simultaneous 
contrast.  Colors  placed  either  alongside  of  one 
another  (juxtaposed)  or  in  such  a  way  that  a 
small  area  of  one  shows  upon  a  larger  area  of  the 
other  (superimposed)  tend  to  modify  one  another. 
This  fact  is  known  as  the  law  of  simultaneous  con- 
trast. 

In  planning  a  color  scheme  for  a  blonde,  in  se- 
lecting trimmings  for  a  hat,  in  choosing  the  back- 
ground in  a  store  window  to  set  off  the  display, 
in  selecting  the  vase  and  flowers  which  are  to  be 
the  enlivening  note  in  a  room  interior,  the  prin- 
ciple of  simultaneous  contrast  is  the  clue  to  the 
most  effective  results.  The  sallow  blonde  may 
look  more  sallow  or  her  complexion  may  seem 
more  vital  and  rosy,  depending  upon  the  choice 
of  the  colors  in  her  hat  and  more  particularly 
in  her  collar.  This  is  only  one  of  the  endless  ap- 
plications of  the  principle  that  colors  are  modified 
in  appearance  by  their  proximity  to  other  colors. 
If  the  fullest  understanding  of  the  principle  makes 
a  little  experimenting  necessary,  the  effort  should 
certainly  not  be  grudged. 

Plate  V  illustrates  a  number  of  experiments 
which  can  be  tried  out  upon  as  many  different 
people  as  the  reader  may  choose.  Each  of  the 
squares  (a)  and  (b)  has  a  smaller  dark  gray 
square  superimposed  upon  it.  These  smaller 


30  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

squares  are  equally  dark.  But  the  small  square 
on  (a)  which  is  light  gray  will  seem  darker  than 
the  same  small  square  on  (b),  which  is  black. 
Each  of  the  squares  (c)  and  (d)  has  a  smaller 
gray  square  superimposed  upon  it.  These  smaller 
squares  are  equally  light.  Yet  the  square  on  (c) 
will  seem  lighter  than  the  square  on  (d).  In  the 
figure  (e),  a  series  of  gray  oblongs  placed  along- 
side of  one  another,  note  that  although  these 
oblongs  are  all  flat  in  color,  they  present  the  effect 
of  fluted  surfaces.,This  is  so  because  the  left  half 
of  each  seems  4ignte£*than  the  right  half  through 
simultaneous  contrast. 

These  experiments  with  grays  also  illustrate 
to  an  extent  the  influence  which  colored  squares 
would  have  upon  one  another.  If  the  reader  will 
duplicate  the  experiment  in  (a),  (b),  (c)  and  (d), 
using  colored  slips  for  the  smaller  squares,  it  will 
be  found  that  small  dark  blue  squares  cut  from 
the  same  sheet  will  seem  lighter  or  darker 
through  simultaneous  contrast.  A  dark  blue  will 
seem  darker  upon  a  light  gray  than  upon  a  dark 
gray.  A  light  blue  will  seem  lighter  upon  a  dark 
gray  than  upon  a  light  gray. 

Let  us  go  one  step  further.  Place  the  small  blue 
squares  on  larger  colored  squares,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  the  dark  blue  upon  light  colors,  such  as 
pure  yellow,  will  seem  darker  than  the  same  blue 
upon  dark  green.  It  will  also  be  seen  that  the 
light  blue  upon  a  dark  green  will  seem  lighter  than 
the  light  blue  on  a  pale  green. 


PLATE.       V 


5 in U  LTAh E.OU5.    CONTRAST 


(a)  and  (b)    The      small      square       on      white      seems 
darker      (c)  and  (d)    The     small     acju&re     on      bl&ck 
5eem5      lighter,      (e)  Five      flat      grays       present      flu- 
ted      appearance  .     Cf)  to   Cj)    These      experiments 

will      prove       how     different      the      red      will     look      on 

different     grounds. 

The      reader     can      make      many      5imLtar     experiments, 

substituting       V  b.  G.  Y.  O.    for    the     red. 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  31 

Still  following  the  method  of  (a),  (b),  (c)  and 
(d)  on  plate  V,  let  the  reader  now  place  a  small  red 
square  upon  a  large  yellow  square.  The  yellow 
will  become  greenish  and  the  red  will  become  violet 
in  cast.  For  the  red  will  throw  its  complementary 
blue-green  into  the  yellow,  and  the  yellow  will 
throw  its  complementary  blue  into  the  red.  To 
prove  that  the  yellow  has  been  made  greenish  by 
the  red,  place  alongside  of  the  combination  of  a  red 
square  on  a  yellow  square,  a  combination  of  a  small 
blue  square  on  a  yellow  square,  and  also  a  small 
red  square  on  a  blue-green  square.  It  will  now  be 
seen  that  the  yellow  combined  with  blue  looks 
purer  than  the  yellow  combined  with  red ;  and  also 
that  the  red  combined  with  blue-green  looks  purer 
than  the  red  combined  with  yellow.  (See  (f ),  (g) 
and  (h)  on  Plate  V.) 

For  the  many  other  effects  of  the  law  of  simul- 
taneous contrast  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
chapter  on  this  subject.  The  principal  results  will 
here  be  summarized  and  the  reader  can  use  the 
colored  slips  in  innumerable  combinations  to 
verify  them. 

1.  Colors  are  influenced  in  their  darkness  or 
lightness  by  the  darkness  or  lightness  of  the  col- 
ors which  adjoin  them. 

2.  Colors  are  influenced  in  their  hue  or  quality 
of  color  through  their  neighboring  colors.    This 
influence  can  be  clearly  anticipated  since  each 
color  throws  into  its  neighbor  its  own  complemen- 
tary.   Thus  blue  throws  yellow  into  its  neighbors 


32  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

and  will  therefore  make  white  seem  yellowish;  it 
will  make  gray  seem  warmer;  it  will  make  red 
seem  orange;  it  will  make  green  seem  yellow- 
green,  as  in  Plate  VI,  figure  (g). 

3.  Colors  are  influenced  in  their  intensity  or 
purity  by  simultaneous  contrast  since  two  comple- 
mentary colors  both  seem  purer  and  fuller  when 
juxtaposed  or  superimposed.     (See  Plate  VI,  fig- 
ure (b).) 

4.  All  light  colors  will  seem  most  striking  on 
black. 

5.  All  dark  colors  will  seem  most  striking  on 
white. 

6.  Dark  colors  on  a  dark  ground  which  is  not 
complementary  to  them  will  seem  weak;  edges 
will  be  lost  and  the  pattern  will  be  vague.    A  line 
of  white  or  any  other  light  color  separating  the 
two  dark  colors  will  be  found  useful  in  strengthen- 
ing and  clarifying  such  a  scheme. 

7.  Light  colors  on  a  light  ground  which  is  not 
complementary  will  seem  weak;  the  edges  of  the 
squares  will  be  lost  and  the  effect  will  be  vague 
and  lacking  in  clarity.     This  can  be  offset  by  a 
line  of  black  or  any  other  dark  color,  (preferably 
complementary),  separating  the  two  light  colors. 

8.  Bright  or  pure  colors  on  a  dull  ground  of  the 
same  hue  or  of  any  other  hue  not  complementary, 
as,  for  example,  a  bright  red  on  a  dull  red,  on  a 
dull  blue  or  on  a  dull  yellow,  will  deaden  the  dull 
color.     The  bright  color  will  not  gain  much  from 
such  a  contrast,  since  the  duller  color  will  affect 


PLATE.     VI 


SIMULTANEOUS    CONTRAST 


TLSTS  WITh  COLOR.LD  5LI P5 


PURE.      COLOR 


DULL    COLOR. 
(.NOT    COMPLE-MENTARy) 


PURE.    COLOR. 


DULL     COLOR, 
(c  on  p I_E  m  EN  TAR. •$ 


LtCHT      COLOR, 


LIGHT     COLOR 


DARK       COLOR     OH    DARK 


F        DARK    COLOR.    ON     DARK 


PURE.    COLOR. 
5PE-CTRUM     VALUL 


COMPLEMLNTARY 
SPLCTRUM     VALUE. 


^LOSSV      TE.XTURE. 

DULL 

TE.XTURE. 

(a,)  These     deaden      one      another.    Cb)  These     enhance 
one     another.    Cc)  And   Ce)  Vagueness     of     effect; 
blurred    edge     between     the    two.    (d)  and  Cf)   CUrlty 
Introduced     Into     Former     throuoh      separation     of 
clo.se     values      by      contrasting      note .    Co)  Colors    At 
maximum      forcefulness.     Ch)  Stmultaneous     contrast 
of    textures. 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  33 

its  purity.  Bright  colors,  if  they  are  to  be  com- 
bined with  dull  colors,  go  best  with  complemen- 
taries.  (See  Plate  VI,  figures  (a)  and  (b).) 

The  facts  just  stated  in  6  and  7  can  be  simply 
demonstrated  with  the  colored  slips.  Place  one 
light  color  over  another  light  color,  so  that  the 
whole  length  of  one  of  the  slips  shows  and  only 
two  inches  of  the  other.  Observe  the  lack  of 
clarity,  the  vagueness  at  the  edge.  Now  introduce 
a  third  slip  of  black  or  any  other  dark  color,  so 
that  a  thin  line  of  dark  appears  between  the  two 
light  colors  and  the  improvement  will  be  noticed 
at  once.  (See  Plate  VI,  figures  (c),  (d),  (e)  and 

w.) 

The  Naming  of  Colors.  One  difficulty  in  writing 
about  colors  must  now  be  faced.  The  reader,  if  a 
painter  in  oils,  thinks  of  colors  as  siennas,  umbers, 
ochres  and  madders.  If  a  painter  in  water  colors 
he  has  besides  a  whole  range  of  color  names  quite 
strange  to  the  painter  in  oils,  such  as  burnt  car- 
mine, alizarine  red,  Naples  yellow.  The  woman 
selecting  dress  goods  has  a  color  vocabulary  which 
quite  puts  the  painter's  to  blush,  such  as  "ele- 
phant's breath,"  "tango,"  "flame,"  etc.  To 
name  and  standardize  colors  has  been  the  effort  of 
a  number  of  workers  in  the  field  of  color  study.  It 
must  be  obvious  that  for  many  purposes,  such  as 
printing,  it  would  be  most  desirable  in  the  selection 
both  of  stock  and  inks,  to  have  colors  standardized. 

Munsell,  an  American  writer,  in  his  book  on 
"Color  Notation"  and  in  his  color  apparatus  and 


34  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

charts,  has  endeavored  to  create  a  set  of  color 
standards,  and  simple  devices  for  teaching  them. 
His  system,  which  the  author  follows  in  the  main, 
is  summarized  in  the  chapter  on  "  Color  Nomen- 
clature. " 

The  Threefold  Character  of  Color.  Colors  may 
differ  from  one  another  in  three  respects:  (1) 
Two  colors  may  differ  in  quality,  in  other  words 
one  may  be  blue,  the  other  yellow.  This  difference 
is  called  a  difference  in  hue.  (2)  Colors  may  dif- 
fer from  one  another  in  the  amount  of  light  which 
they  reflect.  Thus  a  yellow  may  reflect  more  light 
than  a  blue,  or  two  blues  may  reflect  different 
amounts  of  light.  One  blue  may  reflect  very  much 
light,  in  which  case  we  call  it  a  light  blue;  the 
other  may  reflect  little  light,  in  which  case  we  call 
it  a  dark  blue.  The  difference  in  the  amount  of 
light  reflected  by  colors  is  called  a  difference  in 
value.  (3)  Colors  may  differ  from  one  another  in 
their  purity.  Thus  two  colored  papers  may  both 
be  blue,  in  which  case  their  hues  would  be  the  same. 
They  may  both  be  equally  light,  in  which  case 
their  values  would  be  the  same.  But  one  may  be 
a  pure  and  intense  blue,  the  other  a  grayed  blue, 
dulled  in  color.  The  difference  in  the  amount  of 
purity  or  fullness  of  hue  is  called  intensity. 
(Munsell  calls  it  chroma.) 

The  difference  between  brown  eyes  and  blue 
eyes  is  a  difference  in  hue.  The  difference  be- 
tween light  blue  eyes  and  dark  blue  eyes  is  a  dif- 
ference in  value.  The  difference  between  the  blue 


PL,  ATE      VII 


COLOR 


TME.     COLOR      CUBE. 


5CALE1 

OF 

VALUED 


SCALE: 

OF 
INTENSITIES 


12    3456759  10 
GRAYER.    AND    PURER 


INTENSITIES 

FROM 

GRAV    TO   PUR.E, 


The  ten  csr^s  on  fiaure  (e)  represent  ten  different 
decrees  of  intensity  from  neutral  gray  to  m&) 
mum  purity  of  hue . 


x  L  - 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  35 

eyes  of  a  babe,  and  the  faded  gray  blue  eyes  of  a 
grown-up  is  a  difference  in  intensity. 

Color  Notation  and  the  Color  Cube.  Plate  VII 
illustrates  the  threefold  character  of  color  and  is 
a  clue  to  color  statement.  Let  the  figure  (a)  rep- 
resent a  cube  composed  of  ten  horizontal  slices 
progressing  from  white  at  the  top,  through  tints 
and  shades  of  red  to  black  at  the  bottom.  Each  of 
the  slices  between  white  and  black  would  represent 
a  different  value  of  red.  Any  red  could  then  be 
described  as  a  red  of  value  8  or  9  if  it  is  very  light, 
or  a  red  of  value  2  or  3  if  it  is  almost  black.  Let 
the  figure  (b)  represent  a  cube  of  ten  vertical  slices 
progressing  from  the  front  slice  which  is  a  red  as 
intense  as  can  be  imagined,  to  the  tenth  slice  at  the 
back,  which  is  so  gray  that  one  can  hardly  sense 
the  tinge  of  red  in  it.  Each  of  these  slices  would 
represent  a  different  intensity  of  red.  The  very 
pure  reds  would  be  intensity  7  or  8 ;  the  very  gray 
ones,  intensities  1  or  2  or  3. 

The  figure  (c)  represents  a  cube  composed  of 
one  hundred  square  prisms.  All  prisms  in  the 
same  horizontal  plane  are  equal  in  value.  All 
prisms  in  the  same  vertical  plane  are  equal  in  in- 
tensity. The  color  of  any  given  square  prism 
would  be  identified  by  giving  its  value  or  position 
between  white  and  black,  and  its  intensity  or  posi- 
tion between  gray  and  maximum  purity.  Thus 
the  square  prism  on  the  third  row  down,  four  from 
the  front,  would  be  value  8,  intensity  7.  The 
square  prism  on  the  fourth  row  down  and  seven 


36  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

from  the  front  would  be  value  7,  intensity  4.  The 
reader  will  now  be  in  a  position  to  name  any  of  the 
others. 

By  a  little  practice  the  reader  can  learn  to  name 
any  color  seen  in  nature  or  in  art.  The  method 
is  first  to  determine  the  hue,  which  is  stated  simply 
as  violet,  blue,  green,  yellow,  orange,  red,  or  red- 
violet,  blue-violet,  blue-green,  yellow-green,  yellow- 
orange,  orange-red.  To  these  hues  may  be  added 
browns,  yellow-browns,  orange-browns,  russet- 
browns,  even  violet-browns.  The  next  step  is  to 
decide  on  the  value,  or  the  degree  of  light  or  dark 
in  the  color.  Is  it  almost  as  light  as  white?  Then 
it  is  value  2  or  3.  Is  it  about  half-way  between 
white  and  black?  Then  it  is  value  5.  The  next 
step  is  to  decide  on  the  intensity  of  the  color.  Is 
it  quite  grayed  or  is  it  quite  positive?  If  very 
gray,  it  is  about  intensity  2  or  3.  If  very  pure,  it 
is  about  intensity  5  or  6.  Colors  as  found  in  non-lu- 
minous objects,  unless  in  the  direct  light  of  the  sun, 
are  rarely  to  be  expressed  as  higher  than  6  or  7. 

By  this  method,  which  becomes  quite  simple 
after  a  little  practice,  the  reader  can  learn  to 
memorize  colors,  to  make  a  quick  note  of  a  color 
scheme  observed  somewhere,  and  to  reproduce  the 
•color  quite  closely  from  the  formula  hue-value-in- 

\TC\  ll"|  £} 

tensity.     This  might  be  written :  hue     -r— : -A — 

intensity ; 

3 
e.  g.,  blue  — .     Grays  would  be  expressed  as  gray 

4 

4  8 

—  or  gray  — ,  as  grays  have  no  intensity. 


PLATE     VII 


COLOR     NOMENCLATURE." 


SPLCTRUM    VALUE.    SCALE! 


1 

2 

>ELLOW 

3 

ytLLOW    ORANGE. 

VLLLOW     GRE.EN 

A 

ORANGE. 

G^ELN 

5 

RED     ORANGL 

GREEN     &LUE. 

6 

REID 

BLUE. 

7 

RE.D     VIOLE.T 

BLUE     VIOLET 

6 

VIOLE.T 

* 

10 

BBB 

TINTS     AND    SHADES 


10 


W 


TINTS 
OF 
RE.D 


3PE.CTROM 
K.ED 


5H  ADE5 
OF 

RLD 
5 


h 


SPECTRUM 
YELLOW 


SHADF-5 

OF 
YLLLOW 


T 


TINTS 

OF 
VIOLET 


SPECTRUM 
VIOLET 


TINTS 

OF 
BLUE. 


5PECTRUM 
6LUE. 


5HADEL5 

OF 
BLUE. 


WWhen     llaht    is    broken    up    by    physicists,   the     spec- 
trum    which    results    reveals    yellow    as    near    to    white 
in    value-,    and    violet    as    close    to    black.   Cb)  This    scale 
leaves     no    place     For    the     indication    of    tints    of  ^yellow 
or    shades     of    violet. 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  37 

It  would  afford  good  practice  in  the  applica- 
tion of  this  nomenclature  for  the  reader  to  ap- 
ply it  to  the  colored  slips,  marking  each  of 
them  upon  the  back  with  its  hue,  value  and  inten- 
sity. 

Spectrum  Values,  Grays,  Tints  and  Shades. 
Grays  will  of  course  present  no  difference  in  inten- 
sity, as  they  are  all  zero  in  intensity.  Grays  dif- 
fer only  in  value.  Plate  VIII,  figure  (a),  shows 
a  scale  of  grays  in  ten  values  from  white  to 
black. 

When  the  colors  in  light  are  broken  up  so  that 
they  fall  upon  a  screen  in  their  fullest  intensity, 
the  result  is  known  as  a  spectrum.  Spectrum  yel- 
low is  very  light  as  compared  with  spectrum  vio- 
let, which  is  quite  dark.  The  values  of  the  hue  at 
their  fullest  are  indicated  on  both  sides  of  the 
value  scale  in  figure  (a). 

Figure  (b)  on  the  same  plate  represents  the 
meaning  of  the  words  tints  and  shades.  The  tints 
of  a  color  are  those  values  of  the  color  higher  than 
its  spectrum  value.  They  are  obtained  by  adding 
white  to  the  spectrum  color.  The  shades  of  a 
color  are  those  values  of  the  color  lower  than  the 
spectrum  value.  Shades  are  obtained  by  adding 
black  to  the  spectrum  color.  The  tints  of  yellow 
and  the  shades  of  violet  do  not  find  room  upon  the 
illustration.  That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  only  ten 
gradations  of  value  are  represented,  although  the 
eye  is  sensitive  to  much  more  subtly  graded  dif- 
ferences of  light  and  dark. 


38  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

Further  Experiments  with  Colored  Slips.  If 
the  reader  wishes  to  realize  more  fully  the  prop- 
erties of  color,  there  is  a  great  variety  of  simple 
experiments  to  which  the  colored  slips  lend  them- 
selves. These  experiments  practiced  under  scien- 
tific conditions  could  be  made  the  basis  for  con- 
tributions to  local  newspapers,  in  which  the  reader 
would  record  his  findings.  In  this  manner  the 
reader  though  only  a  lay  student  of  the  subject 
could  accomplish  more  than  most  of  the  profes- 
sional artists  in  his  community  ever  attempt  to- 
wards stimulating  the  habit  of  color  observation 
and  color  thinking.  It  would  be  very  important 
in  any  such  popular  article  that  the  reader  who 
feels  that  his  findings  will  interest  the  public 
should  point  out  the  practical  applications  of  the 
results  which  he  obtains.  The  experiments  which 
are  suggested  are  in  the  nature  of  researches  into 
the  psychology  of  color.  The  results  have  prac- 
tical applications  in  dress,  home  and  business. 

Experiments  for  the  Activity  of  Color.  An  un- 
derstanding of  the  activity  or  carrying  power  of 
colors  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  posters, 
meant  to  carry  at  a  distance,  in  the  choice  of  col- 
ors for  stage  settings  and  costumes  and  in  window 
display.  It  is  also  useful  in  those  cases  where 
colors  are  intended  to  lose  themselves  and  be  least 
insistent  as  in  the  decorations  of  small  rooms,  and 
in  camouflage.  In  the  previous  text  a  simple  ex- 
periment was  suggested  to  test  the  carrying  power 
of  pure  violet,  blue,  green,  yellow,  orange  and  red. 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  39 

As  a  result  it  was  found  that  pure  red,  yellow  and 
orange  are  advancing  colors ;  pure  green,  blue  and 
violet  are  receding  colors.  This  experiment  might 
be  supplemented  by  some  of  the  following. 

To  test  the  influence  of  purity  on  the  activity 
of  colors,  the  reader  can  pin  up  a  pure  red  at  spec- 
trum value  and  grayed  reds.  He  will  find  that 
the  pure  red  carries  better  than  the  grayed  reds. 
Similarly  experimentation  with  any  pure  color 
and  the  grayer  tones  of  the  same  color  will  reveal 
that  the  pure  colors  are  in  every  case  more  ad- 
vancing than  the  gray  colors.  Even  in  the  case  of 
the  "receding"  colors,  green,  blue,  and  violet,  the 
pure  tones  will  be  relatively  advancing  as  com- 
pared with  the  grayed  ones. 

To  test  the  influence  of  value  on  the  advance  or 
recession  of  colors,  light  and  dark  reds  of  equal 
intensity  may  be  compared  with  one  another. 
In  the  varying  values  of  a  given  color  it  will  be 
found  that  the  carrying  power  or  advance  of  the 
color  does  not  depend  upon  its  value  as  such,  but 
rather  upon  the  contrast~of  its  value  with  the 
background  against  which  it  is  seen. 

If  the  reader  is  interested  in  posters,  experi- 
ments for  the  carrying  power  of  different  color 
combinations  are  very  important.  These  should 
be  quantitative  and  should  be  tested  on  a  large 
number  of  people  so  as  to  get  results  which  would 
be  true  for  average  vision.  Let  the  reader  take 
a  number  of  strips  of  white  cardboard,  and  pin  the 
slips  upon  these,  five  on  a  strip.  Let  them  be 


40  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

tacked  up  at  ten,  then  at  fifteen,  then  at  twenty 
feet  and  then  at  greater  distances  from  the  subject 
who  is  being  tested.  Shifting  the  cardboard  strips 
at  intervals  and  turning  them  upside  down,  the  ex- 
perimenter can  make  certain  that  the  colors  are 
not  memorized.  The  relative  carrying  power  of 
each  of  these  colors  upon  a  white  ground  can  be 
estimated  by  the  average  results  of  tests  on  a  num- 
ber of  people.  The  conditions  of  light  and  expos- 
ure should  be  the  same  in  all  cases. 

This  experiment  can  be  tried  out  with  the  same 
colors  pinned  flat  upon  black  or  upon  any  other 
color.  It  will  be  found  that  the  results  are  quite 
different,  that  yellow  for  example  carries  much 
better  upon  black  than  upon  white.  This  is  be- 
cause contrast  plays  so  important  a  part  in  the 
carrying  power  of  color. 

Tests  for  Over-stimulation  by  Different  Colors. 
It  has  been  previously  pointed  out  that  over-ex- 
posure to  a  red  would  call  up  an  after  percept  in 
the  nature  of  a  second  color,  blue-green ;  that  over- 
exposure  to  yellow  would  call  up  blue,  over-expo- 
sure to  green  would  call  up  violet ;  and  conversely 
over-exposure  to  the  second  color  in  each  of  these 
cases  would  call  up  the  first  as  an  after  percept. 

This  as  has  been  explained  is  due  to  the  over- 
stimulation  and  consequent  fatigue  of  those  nerve 
endings  exposed  to  the  given  color.  By  a  very 
simple  set  of  tests,  the  reader  can  now  determine 
the  relative  stimulation  of  the  different  colors  and 
the  time  it  would  take  to  over- stimulate  the  eye  in 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  41 

each  case.  For  example  to  test  the  stimulation 
of  pure  red,  time  the  number  of  seconds  which 
elapse  before  steady  gazing  at  the  red  against 
white  will  call  up  a  strong  sensation  of  blue  green 
on  the  white  page  beneath.  Then  test  the  other 
colors  at  their  fullest  intensity  in  the  same  man- 
ner. 

Though  the  reader  may  discover  very  little  dif- 
ference between  the  pure  colors  in  this  test,  the 
difference  will  become  most  marked  if  he  will  now 
compare  pure  colors  with  grayed  colors  of  the 
same  hue.  It  will  take  much  longer  for  a  grayed 
red  to  fatigue  the  eye  than  it  will  take  a  pure  red, 
if  one  may  judge  eye  fatigue  by  the  length  of  time 
which  it  "takes  for  the  after  percept  to  appear. 
The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  grayed  color 
is  a  blend  of  two  complement aries.  It  represents 
in  itself  an  approach  to  balanced  stimulation. 
But  long  exposure,  when  the  predominant  hue  is 
present  in  sufficient  quantity,  will  cause  over-stim- 
ulation and  the  appearance  of  an  after  percept, 
complementary  to  the  dominant  hue.  This  com- 
plementary sensation  will,  however,  be  very  pale 
and  gray. 

Tests  for  Balance  of  Weight,  Value  and 
Warmth.  First  test  black  and  each  of  the  differ- 
ent colors  in  sets  of  two,  holding  one  slip  over  the 
other,  so  that  the  full  length  of  one  slip  shows  over 
part  of  the  length  of  the  other.  Let  us  assume 
that  the  full  length  of  black  is  showing  below  three 
inches  of  pure  red.  Now  move  the  red  slip  up  and 


42  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

down  until  the  eye  seems  best  pleased  with  the  pro- 
portion of  black  below  to  red  above.  Assuming 
that  the  five  inches  of  black  now  support  two 
inches  of  red  this  would  be  expressed  as  five  parts 
of  black  balances  two  parts  of  red. 

By  experiment  it  will  be  found  that  as  the  red 
grows  intenser  the  quantity  needed  to  balance  the 
black  is  reduced.  As  it  grows  grayer  the  quantity 
needed  to  balance  the  black  is  increased.  As  it 
grows  darker  the  quantity  needed  to  balance  the 
black  is  increased  still  more. 

Tests  for  Balance  as  Regards  Warm  and  Cold. 
The  foregoing  tests,  however,  incidentally  involve 
a  balance  of  light  and  dark,  warm  and  cold,  pure 
and  dull.  For  in  combining  one  color  with  black 
or  with  any  other  color  the  eye  demands  a  bal- 
ance of  light  and  dark,  of  purer  and  duller  tones, 
of  active  and  receding  colors,  of  warmer  and 
colder  colors. 

The  previous  tests  for  black  and  one  color 
might  now  be  repeated  to  observe  how  a  small 
quantity  of  light  value  color  would  balance  the 
black,  but  it  would  take  a  much  larger  quantity 
<5f  a  lower  value  color.  The  same  tests  would 
demonstrate  that  a  small  quantity  of  a  warm  color 
would  balance  the  black,  whereas  a  much  larger 
quantity  of  a  cold  color  is  required.  Likewise  a 
small  quantity  of  pure  active  color,  red,  yellow  or 
orange  would  balance  the  black  much  better  than 
an  equal  amount  of  pure  green,  blue  or  violet. 
These  experiments  for  black  and  one  color  could 


WHAT  COLOR  IS  43 

be  carried  out  for  blue  and  one  color,  red  and  one 
color,  and  so  on,  until  the  reader  has  established 
for  himself  the  reality  of  the  principle  of  color 
balance. 


CHAPTEE  III 
CHOOSING  A  COLOE  COMBINATION 

Three  Fv/ndamentals  in  Color  Schemes.  Some 
of  the  principles  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  planning  a 
room  interior,  a  gown,  a  business  circular  or  a 
poster  will  now  be  studied.  As  it  is  the  author's 
aim  to  make  the  book  as  useful  as  possible,  even 
to  the  reader  who  has  had  no  previous  art  train- 
ing, only  the  simplest  possible  statement  will  be 
attempted.  A  more  technical  statement  of  the 
principles  treated  in  this  chapter  is  to  be  found  in 
chapters  XI  to  XVI. 

The  designer  of  any  practical  everyday  applica- 
tion of  color  is  facing  virtually  the  same  problem 
as  a  painter  who  composes  with  colors  on  a  canvas, 
or  as  a  designer  of  theatrical  settings  who  com- 
poses with  colors  in  a  volume.  If  the  contour  of 
a  woman's  figure  is  made  upon  a  wall,  the  silhou- 
ette which  results  is  the  shape  of  the  canvas  which 
the  dress  designer  has  to  decorate.  If  the  window 
decorator  would  think  of  his  window  as  a  stage 
which  is  to  be  set  so  as  to  attract  and  hold  the  in- 
terest of  the  spectators  who  are  walking  by,  he 
will  realize  that  the  stage  decorator  has,  in  fact, 

44 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION         4& 

an  easier  problem  than  his  own.    But  the  general 
similarity  of  the  two  problems  becomes  obvious. 

In  any  event  the  choice  of  a  color  scheme  in- 
volves the  following  considerations : 

(1)  The  color  scheme  should  be  practical. 

(2)  The  color  combination  should  be  pleasant 

and  stimulate  the  eye  agreeably,  and  it 
should  add  to  the  interest  and  agreeable- 
ness  of  the  object  decorated. 

(3)  The    color    arrangement    should    be    well 

planned,  so  that  not  only  the  eye  is 
pleased,  but  also  the  mind. 

Making  a  Color  Scheme  Practical.  Colors  must 
be  suited  to  their  purpose.  They  must  be  adapted 
to  the  use  of  the  object  which  they  decorate. 
They  must  be  suited  to  the  material  of  that  object. 
They  must  also  be  suited  to  its  construction. 
These  three  principles  are  called  the  laws  of  fit- 
ness. They  are  considered  more  fully  in  Chapter 
XVI,  but  the  main  points  to  be  remembered  fol- 
low. 

Suiting  Colors  to  Purpose  of  Object  Decorated. 
Objects  of  humble  use  should  be  decorated  with 
sober  colors  which  are  quiet  and  dull.  A  fork  and 
knife  holder  will  receive  simpler  color  treatment 
than  a  jewel  case.  Outdoor  dresses  in  summer 
permit  of  stronger  contrasts  and  brighter  colors 
than  winter  street  gowns. 

Color  schemes  which  may  have  to  make  their  im- 
pression at  a  moment's  glance  require  a  clarity 
and  force  which  would  be  out  of  place  in  a  color 


46  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

scheme  which  is  to  be  lived  with.  Colors  which 
must  carry  at  a  distance  must  present  stronger 
contrasts  than  colors  to  be  seen  at  close  range. 

But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  enumerate  all  the 
examples  of  the  need  of  adapting  colors  to  the  use 
of  the  objects  they  decorate.  The  important  point 
to  be  remembered  is  that  the  very  first  question 
to  be  decided  in  choosing  a  color  scheme  is  "What 
colors  would  be  suited  to  the  use  of  the  object?'' 
This  really  implies  two'  other  questions,  viz. :  how 
practical  are  the  colors,  and  how  do  they  har- 
monize with  the  use  of  the  thing?  For  colors 
suggest  mood,  and  a  color  scheme  which  might  be 
suited  to  a,  flower  vase  or  a  spring  hat  would  look 
quite  foolish  on  an  engine,  not  only  because  the 
gayer  colors  would  soil  too  easily,  but  also  because 
"frivolous"  colors  are  out  of  harmony  with  the 
associations  of  force  in  an  engine. 

Suiting  Colors  to  the  Material  Decorated.  The 
next  consideration  in  choosing  colors  so  that  they 
will  be  practical  is  that  of  suiting  the  color  to  the 
material.  A  few  applications  of  this  principle 
follow. 

Materials  of  rich  texture  very  agreeable  to  the 
eye  are,  as  a  rule,  treated  much  more  simply  than 
coarser  material.  Marble,  leather,  velvet  or  jer- 
sey are  so  agreeable  as  material  that  elaborate 
color  treatment  is  avoided  because  it  would  tend 
to  hide  the  surface  of  the  material.  It  is  the  hat 
of  cheap  straw  which  demands  colored  trimming 
more  than  the  hat  of  fine  texture,  which  looks  rich 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        47 

even  in  one  color.  But  the  person  of  limited 
means  can  be  consoled  with  the  thought  that  the 
tasteful  application  of  color  to  cheap  materials 
may  give  more  artistic  effects  than  a  reliance  upon 
rich  textures. 

Suiting  colors  to  materials  implies  suiting  the 
colors  to  the  technique  which  the  material  makes 
necessary.  Leather  permits  of  cutting,  tooling, 
pressing,  stamping  and  burning.  Wood  permits 
of  inlay  carving,  painting,  staining  and  stenciling. 
A  straw  shape  may  be  embroidered,  painted,  sten- 
ciled, or  just  draped.  In  each  case  the  technique 
used  influences  the  character  of  the  color  scheme. 

Suiting  Colors  to  the  Shape  and  Construction 
of  Objects.  Under  this  heading  some  important 
points  are  to  be  borne  in  mind.  The  color  accents 
.should  be  at  the  points  of  interest.  Whatever  is 
the  logical  climax  of  the  scheme  should  receive  the 
strongest  contrast  of  color  emphasis.  Just  as  in 
dress  the  collar  and  hat  should  frame  in  the  face 
through  a  strong  contrasting  note,  so  in  a  room 
the  color  accent  should  come  logically  at  the  point 
of  greatest  interest. 

In  decorating  a  dress,  the  shape  or  figure  of  the 
wearer  must  be  considered  and  color  accents  must 
be  avoided  at  weak  points.  Thus  a  woman  whose 
walk  is  poor  should  not  be  gowned  in  a  dress  with 
decorative  accents  at  the  hips  or  below.  The  sim- 
pler her  skirt  is,  and  the  more  positive  the  con- 
trast in  her  hat  and  collar,  the  less  noticeable  will 
be  her  defect.  A  large  room  which  is  to  be  made 


48  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

more  intimate  in  appearance  can  be  reduced 
through  stronger  colors  in  wall  and  ceiling  and 
through  more  contrasting  patterns. 

The  applications  of  the  principles  of  the  fitness 
of  color  are  numerous,  but  the  whole  subject  of  the 
harmony  of  the  color  scheme  with  the  practical  re- 
quirements will  here  be  summed  up  again  in  the 
three  propositions. 

1.  The  colors  must  be  suited  to  the  purpose 

of  the  object  decorated. 

2.  They  must  be  suited  to  the  material  and  to 

the  technique  which  it  enforces. 

3.  They  must  be  suited  to  the  shape  and  the 

construction  of  the  object. 

Color  Combination.  Having  decided  in  a  gen- 
eral way  upon  colors  which  will  be  practical  and 
suitable  in  mood  as  dark  or  light,  gay  or  somber, 
warm  or  cool,  the  next  problem  in  color  planning 
is  the  more  definite  choice  of  the  colors.  Nat- 
urally the  simplest  solution  in  any  case  is  to  have 
no  hue  at  all.  It  is  a  solution  many  choose'  in 
dress.  White,  black  and  grays  present  no  danger 
of  discord,  and  so,  many  evade  the  problem  of  color 
combination,  hiding  their  ignorance  behind  neutral 
grays.  But  color  combinations  to  be  interesting 
must  present  the  variety  which  comes  from  con- 
trasts. To  be  harmonious  there  must  be  some 
binding  unity  or  relationship  within  this  contrast 
and  variety. 

White,  black  or  grays  may  in  given  cases  be  the 
fitting  colors  and  can  even  be  made  interesting 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        49 

through  contrast  in  the  values  of  the  grays  em- 
ployed. But  when  practical,  a  note  of  warm  color 
should  be  introduced  to  enliven  the  effect.  The 
color  designer  must  be  prepared,  however,  to  go  a 
step  further  when  necessary  and  to  employ  actual 
hues  in  a  given  problem. 

Self-tones.  Let  us  say  the  problem  is  a  room. 
If  it  is  not  to  be  all  white  in  floors,  walls,  ceilings 
and  furniture;  if  it  is  not  to  be  all  black  or  all 
gray,  or  all  in  contrasting  values  of  white,  black 
and  gray,  hues  must  be  employed.  What  is  the 
safest  principle  for  the  beginner  in  color  design- 
ing when  planning  a  scheme  in  hues  I  Let  us  con- 
sider the  case  of  the  average  home  builder,  who 
may  be  reading  this  book.  He  has  his  furniture, 
and  that  is  likely  to  be  a  starting-point  in  any 
scheme  he  will  undertake.  The  furniture  is  fumed 
oak  with  brown  leather  upholstered  backs  and 
seats.  What  wall  paper,  rugs,  woodwork,  ceiling 
tones  and  pictures  would  go  best  with  thes£  ? 

The  safest  and  simplest  solution  for  the  be- 
ginner in  the  use  of  hues  is  harmony  through  self- 
tones  of  one  color.  -This  type  of  harmony,  to 
dignify  it  by  an  ornate  name  might  be  called 
monochromatic.  With  the  dark  brown  oak  and 
golden  brown  leather,  a  grayed  tan  or  very  light 
brown  wall,  an  orange  brown  rug,  and  a  very  light, 
creamy  tan  ceiling  might  be  used.  Fumed  oak 
wood-paneling  in  the  walls,  fumed  oak  frames 
for  the  pictures,  and  very  light  brown  mats  might 
complete  the  scheme. 


50  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Monochromatic  harmonies  or,  in  other  words, 
harmonies  of  self -tones  may  be  made  attractive, 
particularly  if  care  is  taken  to  separate  any  two 
tones  which  closely  resemble  one  another  by  a 
third  which  is  strongly  contrasting  in  value. 
Black  can  be  used  with  self -tones  to  separate  two 
light  values.  White  or  light  grays  can  be  used 
with  self -tones  to  separate  two  dark  values.  In 
the  absence  of  contrast  of  hue,  the  maximum  effect 
can  be  secured  through  contrast  of  values. 

Combinations  of  Related  Colors.  If  the  de- 
signer becomes  bolder  and  wishes  to  have  an  in- 
creased interest  in  the  color  chord,  he  may  depart 
from  the  monochromatic  scheme  of  self-tones  of 
one  hue  by  going  one  step  further  and  introduc- 
ing relatedjmes.  The  hues  related  to  yellow  are 
yellow-green,  orange-yellow  and  orange.  The 
hues  related  to  green  are  yellow,  green-blue  and 
blue-green.  The  hues  related  to  red  are  orange, 
orange-red  and  red-violet.  The  hues  related  to 
violet  are  blue,  blue-violet  and  red-violet. 

Belated  colors  are  colors  which  adjoin  one  an- 
other in  the  spectrum.  A  study  of  textiles  and  of 
nature  will  reveal  that  almost  all  objects  which  we 
think  of  as  red  or  green,  present,  in  fact,  a  se- 
quence of  related  colors.  A  red  velvet  hanging 
in  the  sunlight  will  reveal  this  transition  from 
orange,  where  the  light  strikes  it  fully,  to  orange- 
red,  to  red  and  then  to  red-violet  in  the  shadows. 
A  green  leaf  will  reveal  gradations  from  yellow- 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        51 

green  to  green,  to  blue-green  and  then  to  blue  in 
the  shadows. 

Belated  colors  are  not  much  more  difficult  for 
the  beginner  than  self -tones.  If  the  reader  will 
use  the  colored  slips  he  can  plan  a  scheme  in  self- 
tones  of  different  colors.  Then  he  can  introduce 
into  the  scheme  one  or  two  related  colors  and 
observe  the  effect.  The  color  interest  is  imme- 
diately increased  by  the  introduction  of  the  addi- 
tional hue  or  hues. 

A  scheme  of  self-tones  is  weak  in  one  respect. 
It  is  all  warm  or  all  cold,  all  active  or  all  passive. 
The  introduction  of  related  hues,  it  will  be  noticed 
from  the  colored  slips,  hardly  improves  this  weak- 
ness, as  the  related  colors  are  very  much  like  the 
self -tones  in  this  respect.  The  blues  and  greens 
are  cool,  and  yellow-green  is  only  moderately 
warm.  Yellow,  yellow-orange,  orange  and  yellow- 
green  are  all  more  or  less  warm. 

Color  schemes  based  entirely  on  self -tones,  and 
schemes  based  on  related  colors  are  both  likely  to 
prove  ^acking  in  an  interesting  contrast  of  color 
qualities.  To  obtain  the  contrast  of  warm  and 
cool  colors,  of  active  and  passive  colors,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  resort  to  complementarism.  More- 
over, any  combination  of  pure  colors  not  based 
upon  complementaries  is  likely  to  prove  tiring, 
except  in  a  detail  or  accessory  in  a  larger  scheme, 
because  there  will  be  an  over  stimulation  of  just 
one  set  of  nerve  endings. 


52  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Complementarism  and  Color  Combinations. 
According  to  the  law  of  "complementarism  it  is 
necessary  for  hues  to  be  combined  in  given  pairs 
if  the  eye  is  to  receive  a  balanced  stimulation. 
Yellow  and  blue,  red  and  blue  green,  green  and 
violet  were  seen  to  be  three  such  sets  of  comple- 
mentaries.  We  have  also  seen  that  these  sets  each 
presents  a  contrast  of  qualities.  In  each  pair  of 
complementaries  there  is  a  contrast  of  warmth,  of 
activity  and  of  weight.  These  contrasts  make  for 
interest.  It  would  seem  then  that  a  monochro- 
matic color  scheme  may  be  satisfactory  in  a  single 
couch  cover  or  cushion,  that  it  may  even  be  fairly 
pleasing  in  a  room,  but  that  in  large  areas  the  dan- 
ger of  monotony  through  lack  of  contrast,  or  of 
over-stimulation  through  oneness  of  hue,  suggests 
the  wisdom  of  introducing  a  second  color,  prefer- 
ably a  complementary. 

Contrast  in  Color  Combinations.  But  the 
strong  contrasts  which  are  present  in  pure  com- 
plementaries make  these  very  dangerous  for  the 
beginner.  If  a  pure  yellow  by  itself  fatigues  the 
nerve  endings  so  that  blue  is  called  up ;  and  a  pure 
blue  by  itself  so  fatigues  the  nerve  endings  that 
yellow  is  called  up,  large  areas  of  pure  blue  and 
yellow,  though  they  balance  theoretically,  will  ac- 
tually fatigue  all  the  nerve  endings.  In  a  poster 
upon  which  the  eye  will  not  rest  long  the  stimula- 
tion and  force  of  pure  complementaries  is  desir- 
able, but  in  a  room  or  in  a  dress  it  may  be  neces- 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        53 

sary  to  reduce  the  contrasts  in  the  complemen- 
taries.  Even  in  the  small  areas  of  the  colored 
slips,  experiment  will  demonstrate  that  a  pure 
blue  and  a  pure  yellow  are  sharp  and  irritating  in 
contrast. 

Modifying  the  Contrasts  of  Complementaries. 
The  means  which  can  be  used  to  keep  complemen-  j 
tary  colors  less  sharp  in  contrast  should  be  known,  i 
The  complementary  colors  can  be  chosen  in  tones 
about  equally  dark  or  light,  so  that  although  they 
contrast  in  hue,  they  do  not  contrast  in  value.  A 
dark  blue  and  a  dark  yellow,  or  light  blue  and  a 
light  yellow  are  not  as  exciting  as  a  light  yellow 
and  a  dark  blue,  though  equal  purity  of  color  is 
present  throughout.  The  Complementaries  can  be 
chosen  in  tones  both  of  which  are  grayed.  A 
grayed  green  is  grayer  than  a  pure  green  because 
it  has  red  in  it.1  A  grayed  red  is  grayer  than  a 
pure  red  because  it  has  green  in  it.  Therefore  a 
grayed  red  and  a  grayed  blue  green,  though  they 
present  a  contrast  of  value  and  hue,  are  really 
much  closer  in  hue  than  a  pure  red  and  a  pure 
blue  green. 

In  actual  practice  the  red  may  be  grayed  by 
spotting  its  surface  with  blue  green ;  the  blue  green 
can  be  grayed  by  spotting  its  surface  with  red. 
This  becomes  clear  when  we  imagine  a  yellow 
couch  cover  and  a  blue  wall  paper.  Blue  cushions 
on  the  yellow  will  gray  it  and  bring  it  closer  to 

i  See  plate  I  for  an  explanation  of  this  fact. 


54  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  wall.  Pictures,  yellowish  in  color  tone,  will 
gray  the  wall  and  bring  it  closer  to  the  yellow  of 
the  couch  cover. 

Color  Combinations  and  Simultaneous  Contrast. 
The  law  of  simultaneous  contrast  furnishes  many 
other  facts  useful  in  deciding  upon  color  com- 
binations. Some  of  the  principal  points  to  be  re- 
membered are  these : 

1.  Complementary  colors  like  blue  and  yellow 
tend  to  enliven  and  enhance  one  another.     This 
is  most  useful  in  selecting  trimmings  for  a  hat, 
colored  ink  for  a  tinted  stock,  the  background  for 
the  display  of  goods  in  a  window. 

2.  Belated  colors   like   yellow  and   orange,   if 
there  is  little  contrast  in  value,  tend  to  deaden 
one  another,  that  is,  if  both  are  light  or  both  are 
dark.     They  also  tend  to  over-stimulate  one  set  of 
nerve  endings,  just  as  yellow  alone  would. 

3.  Pure  colors  tend  to  deaden  a  grayed  color 
unless  the  grayed  color  is  complementary.    Pure 
yellows,  therefore,  do  not  combine  well  with  dull 
reds  or  dull  oranges  or  dull  browns.    A  pure  yel- 
low enhances  a  dull  blue. 

4.  Light  colors  and  dark  colors  combined  en- 
hance one  another  and  are  eye-stimulating. 

5.  When   complementaries    are   combined   and 
each  is  strong  in  intensity  (or  very  pure)  and  one 
is  low  in  value  while  the  other  is  high  in  value, 
the  maximum  effectiveness  or  liveliness  is  achieved 
in  the  scheme.     But  we  have  seen  that  there  is 
danger  in  such  combinations  and  that  for  most 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        55 

purposes  it  is  best  to  employ  complementaries 
somewhat  grayed;  or,  if  pure,  either  in  the  very 
low  or  in  the  very  high  values  of  each. 

The  Importance  of  the  Color  Chord.  It  will  be 
seen  in  the  next  chapter  that  there  is  much  more 
to  color  designing  than  just  color  combination; 
nevertheless  the  choice  of  a  good  color  chord  is 
most  desirable  as  a  starting-point.  The  personal 
quality  in  a  dress,  a  room  or  a  store  window  will 
depend  largely  upon  the  distinction,  the  simplicity, 
the  novelty  of  the  color  combination.  Observation 
of  nature,  of  art,  and  of  choice  examples  in  the 
special  field  in  which  the  designer  is  interested  is 
most  useful.  The  word  " chord"  describes  very 
well  the  nature  of  a  good  color  combination.  As- 
suming that  the  colors  are  well  chosen  and  prac- 
tical, they  must  combine  as  well  alongside  of  one 
another  as  the  tones  of  a  musical  chord.  Just  as 
a  chord  of  five  notes  may  sound  discordant,  be- 
cause one  is  a  flat  instead  of  a  sharp,  so  a  chord  of 
five  notes  of  color  may  look  wrong  because  one 
of  the  colors  is  too  dark  or  too  pure.  To  store  up 
a  collection  of  good  color  chords  requires  obser- 
vation and  experiment ;  also  a  handy  note  book  in 
which  to  jot  down  interesting  effects. 

In  dress,  home  and  business,  in  nature  and  in 
the  fine  arts  the  reader  should  constantly  be  alert 
for  interesting  color  chords.  Observe  the  agree- 
ableness  of  self-tones,  and  how  value  contrasts 
enliven  them.  Note  the  warmth  or  coolness  of  re- 
lated colors;  see  how  striking  are  the  schemes. 


56  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

based  on  pure  complementaries.  In  nature  ob- 
serve the  self -tones  in  a  gray  cloudy  sky,  the  soft- 
ness of  grayed  violets  and  grayed  greens  at  twi- 
light, the  shriller  contrasting  color  chords  of 
midday.  Watch  a  landscape  become  suffused 
with  an  orange  glow  in  the  late  afternoon  in  sum- 
mer; with  orange-greens  in  the  foliage,  orange- 
yellows  in  the  rocks,  orange-brown  in  the  tree 
trunks,  a  tinge  of  orange  even  in  the  white  clouds 
in  the  eastern  sky.  How  appealing  and  intense 
is  the  deep  blue  sky  enhanced  in  its  blueness  by 
the  warm  glow  of  the  sun  playing  upon  the  forms 
of  hill  and  valley.  In  spring  observe  the  delicate 
harmonies  of  a  spotting  of  light  yellow-greens 
against  the  blue  grays  of  the  atmosphere.  In  the 
garden  see  the  gray  notes  of  yellows,  oranges  and 
reds  against  the  blue-greens  of  the  foliage.  The 
reds,  oranges,  browns,  and  grayed  violets  of  fall 
afford  many  a  deep  rich  warm  chord.  Sea-shells 
give  hints  of  the  possibilites  of  yellows,  creams, 
grays  and  pinks. 

If  there  is  a  convenient  museum  or  even  a  good 
library  at  hand,  the  study  of  color  in  historic  or- 
nament, Oriental  rugs,  Persian  illumination,  Chi- 
nese paintings,  modern  posters,  costume  designs 
and  stage  settings  by  the  newer  men  are  all 
stimulating  and  valuable  and  should  be  studied 
with  colors  and  pad  handy  to  make  records  of 
novel  and  pleasing  combinations. 

In  addition  to  observation  the  colored  slips  sup- 
plemented by  a  collection  of  samples  of  textiles, 


CHOOSING  A  COLOR  COMBINATION        57 

wall-papers  and  similar  material,  can  be  used  for 
an  occasional  half  hour's  play  in  the  selection  of 
schemes  of  grays,  self-tones,  related  colors,  and 
complementaries. 


CHAPTEE  IV 
THE  AET  OF  COLOE  AEEANGEMENT 

The  Three  Aspects  of  Color  Designing.  It  has 
been  previously  mentioned  that  the  designer  who 
wishes  to  make  an  art  of  color  expression  has  to 
bear  in  mind  three  distinct  aspects  of  the  color 
problem.  1.  The  colors  should  be  fitting,  both  as 
regards  suitability  to  the  practical  needs  and  to 
the  mood  of  the  object  to  be  decorated.  2.  The 
color  combination  or  color  chord  should  be  agree- 
ably related  in  its  color  notes,  and  should  present 
contrasts  either  of  light  and  dark,  of  warmth  and 
coolness,  or  of  advance  and  recession.  3.  The 
third  phase  of  the  color  problem  is  color  arrange- 
ment. 

A  color  scheme  may  be  practical,  it  may  be 
pleasing  in  combination,  and  yet  prove  very  un- 
attractive, if  not  annoying,  in  application.  Ten 
men  designing  the  same  room  with  the  same  color 
chord  as  a  starting-point  would  produce  entirely 
different  results.  Though  the  colors  would  be  the 
same,  the  effect  might  seem  absolutely  discordant 
in  one  room,  fair  in  some,  good  in  others  and  ex- 
quisite in  only  one  case.  The  difference  in  effect, 
assuming  the  textures  to  be  equally  interesting, 

58 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT   59 

would  be  due  to  the  differences  in  color  arrange- 
ment, color  organization  or  color  composition. 

The  General  Principle  of  Color  Arrangement. 
The  underlying  principle  is  as  follows:  the  mind 
as  well  as  the  eye  is  pleased  by  a  sense  of  order. 
To  be  interested  the  mind  requires  a  planned 
variety  and  contrast.  To  be  satisfied  it  demands 
a  unity  or  binding  likeness  within  this  variety. 
Though  a  bird's  notes  may  be  agreeable,  we  do 
not  think  of  them  as  art,  because  the  art  of  musical 
sounds  requires  a  planned  arrangement  of  agree- 
able notes  or  chords.  Similarly  in  color,  the  most 
pleasant  colors  as  such  will  not  arouse  the  aesthetic 
emotions  to  the  same  degree  that  they  will  when 
organized.  The  musical  composer  working  with 
sounds  plans  his  arrangements  on  principles  of 
selection,  grouping,  contrast  and  variety,  elabora- 
tion of  detail  and  climax.  The  color  composer 
working  with  color  notes  can  do  the  same.  If 
color-expression  is  to  be  placed  on  a  plane  with 
the  other  arts,  the  part  played  by  color  composi- 
tion must  be  recognized.  The  forms  of  color  ar- 
rangement which  are  means  towards  a  satisfying 
likeness  within  an  interesting  variety  are  color 
rhythm,  color  balance  and  color  proportion. 

Color  Rhythm.  Rhythm  in  color  refers  to  the 
feeling  of  related  motion  which  can  be  secured 
through  certain  arrangements  of  colors.  This 
feeling  of  related  motion  is  a  great  source  of  pleas- 
ure to  the  eye  and  to  the  mind. 

Even  a  vertical  line  suggests  motion.    But  a 


60  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

curved  line  definitely  related  to  a  chord  conveys 
the  sense  of  motion  in  a  more  compelling  way. 
The  curve  (figure  (c)  on  Plate  IX)  which  combines 
a  gradual  increase  in  width  and  darkness  of  stroke 
is  still  more  suggestive  of  movement.  Parallel- 
ism or  the  repetition  of  a  given  movement  accentu- 
ates the  feeling  of  motion  as  in  the  wave  move- 
ment of  figure  (d)  on  Plate  IX  and  the  angular 
slant  motion  of  figure  (e)  on  the  same  plate. 

The  effect  of  movement  which  is  secured  by  the 
gradual  change  in  value,  hue  or  intensity  is  called 
gradation.  On  Plate  X  the  rectangle  (a)  repre- 
sents any  one  of  the  colored  papers  held  flat. 
Take  one  of  the  experimental  colored  slips,  a  pure 
blue  for  example,  and  roll  it  around  a  glass  so  that 
it  presents  the  effect  of  a  blue  cylinder.  Observe 
how  much  more  interesting  the  color  becomes. 
There  now  enters  into  it,  in  place  of  its  former  mo- 
notony of  surface,  the  variety  which  comes  from 
a  gradation  of  its  values  from  lighter  to  darker 
blue,  and  of  its  intensities  from  pure  blue  to  gray 
blues.  Gradation  may  be  secured  by  a  gradual 
increase  in  values  from  light  to  dark,  in  intensi- 
ties from  pure  to  gray,  or  through  a  gradual 
change  in  hue  as  when  blue  passes  through  blue 
green  to  green.  This  last  effect  can  be  illustrated 
by  holding  the  blue  cylinder  near  one  of  the  blue 
green  slips  in  such  a  way  that  the  green  is  re- 
flected into  the  blue.  These  changes  when  limited 
to  a  very  small  range,  as  in  the  gradual  darkening 
of  a  wall  away  from  the  window,  are  represented 


IX 


GOLOR    ARRANGLHOTf' 


LINLAND5MAPL    RhYTHM 


:\ 


X 


d          PARALLELISM  SINUOUS 


6          PARALLELISM  ANGULAR 


P        VERTICAL      PARALLELISM 


CHECK     PATTERNS 


h      STRIPING  AND  GRADATION 


PLAID 


HORIZONTAL    PARALLELISM 


and  (c)  Rel&ted    movemenb    In    lines.  Vd)Line    move- 
ment   emphasized    bnrouah     pakrAllelLsm.  Cf)  and  Cj)  Optic* 
aJ     illusion     through     parallelism;    which    Is    broader? 
Ch)  Parallelism      accentuated      vy    oradahion     or    values, 
(l)  Variety     in     line    movement. 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT    61 

by  figure  (b)  on  Plate  X;  figure  (c)  represents 
these  gradations  in  a  more  rapid  movement  and 
through  a  larger  span  as  in  many  of  Kembrandt's 
compositions.  One  reason  why  some  textures 
are  more  appealing  than  others  is  explained  in 
part  by  figure  (d)  which  represents  the  gradation 
of  values  observable  in  soft  folds. 

A  very  useful  application  of  the  principle  of 
gradation,  is  cold  painting,  a  process  whereby  a 
wall  is  so  colored  that  although  the  effect  is  green, 
this  green  is  mottled  over  with  a  softly  graduated 
and  blending  complementary  somewhat  darker 
than  itself.  This  is  very  useful  on  large  walls, 
as  it  prevents  the  distress  and  monotony  of  flat 
colors,  and  at  the  same  time  satisfies  the  eye 
through  the  presence  of  complementarism. 

That  colors  darker  than  the  atmosphere  tend  to 
grow  lighter  towards  the  distance,  and  colors 
lighter  than  the  atmosphere  tend  to  grow  darker 
are  principles  illustrated  in  (f )  and  (g).  In  both 
cases,  whether  the  colors  grow  lighter  or  darker 
as  they  recede,  they  will  simultaneously  grow 
grayer  towards  the  horizon.  In  other  words  (f) 
and  (g)  if  in  colors  would  present  a  gradation 
of  intensities  as  well  as  of  values. 

Movement  through  Increased  Area  of  Color 
Masses.  On  the  same  plate  figures  (h)  and  (i) 
represent  color  movement  through  the  gradual  in- 
crease in  the  size  of  the  lines  or  color  masses. 
The  sense  of  movement  which  comes  from  a  grada- 
tion both  in  the  value  and  in  the  size  of  the  color 


62  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

masses  is  illustrated  in  figure  (i).  In  designing 
beads,  buttons,  pleats,  horizontal  paneling,  etc., 
this  principle  of  movement  through  gradual  in- 
crease of  color  areas  can  be  employed. 

Color  Movement  through  Repetition.  The 
sense  of  color  movement  can  also  be  introduced 
through  striping  as  in  figures  (f )  and  (j)  on  Plate 
IX,  through  a  combination  of  striping  and  grada- 
tion as  in  figure  (h),  through  checking  as  in  fig- 
ure (g),  and  through  all  over  patterns  of  con- 
ventionalized or  geometrical  units.  These  meth- 
ods create  a  related  motion  through  the  alterna- 
tion of  the  accented  note  of  the  pattern  and  the 
silent  space  of  the  ground,  just  as  does  the  rhythm 
of  accent  in  music. 

On  Plate  IX  the  figures  (f)  and  (j)  illustrate 
the  influence  parallelism  has  in  accentuating  mo- 
tion. It  becomes  apparent  that  repeating  hori- 
zontals emphasize  width  and  make  a  form  seem 
broader;  repeating  verticals  emphasize  height. 
Similarly  parallel  angular  line  movements  as  in 
figure  (e)  accentuate  force;  parallel  soft  curves  as 
in  figure  (d)  emphasize  grace. 

The  check  pattern  on  Plate  IX  though  rhythmic 
is  very  trying  on  the  eyes  because  of  the  shifting 
muscular  movements  to  which  it  gives  rise.  Check 
patterns  are  very  lively,  but  they  are  likely  to  an- 
noy. Two  modifications  are  indicated  in  which 
there  is  a  reduced  contrast  in  the  checks. 

Color  Balance.  A  color  scheme  should  present 
contrasts  and  it  was  seen  how,  purely  from  the 


PLATE.     X 


COLOR 


THROUGH   GRADATION 


FLAT     TONE. 


SLIGHT     GRADATION 


MARKED    GRADATION 


GRADATION      IN     FOLD5 


v:; 


MOTTLI  NG 


GRADATION     IN     LANDSCAPE. 


GRADATION       IN     LANDSCAPE- 


GRADATION      OF     SIZE 


(a)  Uninteresting,  (b)  Roll    colored     slip    around    a  ^'a^s      a.nd 
this    effect     appears     with    resulting     Increased     color 
appeal.  Cc)  Principle     of    chiaroscuro    (d)Clue     to     color 
Interest     of    textures.  Cf)  &nd  Cg)  Gradation     and     illusion 
of    distance.     Ch)  exnd  Ci )  Gradation      of     measure      em- 
phasizes    line     and     color     movement. 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT    63 

point  of  view  of  color  combination,  it  is  desirable 
that  colors  should  be  balanced  in  light  and  dark, 
cool  and  warm,  active  and  passive  tones. 

But  a  color  chord  which  presents  such  a  balance 
still  depends  upon  arrangement  if  it  is  to  realize 
the  fullest  pleasure  which  it  can  afford.  Balance 
in  color  composition  refers  to  the  arrangement  of 
the  colors  on  such  a  plan  that  the  interest  is  cen- 
tered and  the  effect  of  poise  or  stability  is  secured. 

Analysis  of  Plate  XI  demonstrates  that  a  flat 
color,  figure  (a),  is  monotonous.  Two  colors  in 
separate  areas,  no  matter  how  agreeable,  are  likely 
to  create  a  rivalry,  figure  (b).  The  greater  the 
contrast  in  hue  and  value  the  more  pronounced  is 
this  rivalry.  Such  a  scheme  excites  the  attention 
but  it  also  irritates  it.  The  eye  keeps  shifting 
from  the  one  color  to  the  other,  particularly  if  both 
are  active  and  intense.  The  result  is  a  lack  of 
poise  or  balance  although  physically  speaking  the 
colors  may  be  perfectly  balanced. 

On  the  same  plate  figures  (d),  (e)  and  (f)  illus- 
trate another  phase  of  balance  in  spotting.  A  pat- 
tern, whether  of  conventionalized  units,  or  of  geo- 
metrical spots  which  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
field  is  likely  to  disturb  the  sense  of  balance 
through  detachment  from  its  ground.  It  is  in- 
sistent, jumpy  and  isolated.  When  these  spots 
are  repeated  over  a  large  area  they  can  become 
most  irritating.  In  figure  (e)  it  is  seen  how  a 
band  of  lines  binding  these  spots  into  one  broad 
moving  border  decreases  their  detachment  and 


64  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

helps  make  for  balance.  In  figure  (f)  the  de- 
tachment is  still  further  reduced  through  the  re- 
duction of  the  contrasts. 

On  Plate  XI  figures  (c),  (d),  (e)  and  (f )  repre- 
sent the  effort  to  bring  about  an  interplay  of  the 
two  colors  in  figure  (b)  to  eliminate  their  rivalry. 
A  skirt  and  waist  in  strong  contrast  present  the 
same  effect  as  (b).  This  can  be  improved  by  us- 
ing the  skirt  material  for  cuffs  and  collars  on  the 
waist,  thus  creating  an  interplay  of  the  two  notes 
and  binding  them.  Though  this  spotting  of  the 
darks  on  the  waist  may  be  thought  to  resemble 
the  spottiness  and  detachment  of  figure  (d),  it  is 
not  necessarily  objectionable,  for  no  matter  how 
strong  the  contrast  it  is  concentrated  at  points  of 
interest.  The  " jumpy"  effect  which  is  to  be 
avoided  comes  fVom  a  strongly  contrasting  note 
repeated  over  an  area,  as  on  a  border,  or  a  pattern 
for  dress  goods,  wall-paper  or  a  rug. 

On  the  same  plate  figure  (g)  represents  the  bal- 
ance which  comes  from  the  opposition  of  shapes 
and  colors  on  both  sides  of  a  center  line.  This 
extremely  formal  type  of  balance  is  called  sym- 
metry and  is  best  illustrated  by  a  pharmacist's 
scale,  figure  (h).  Figure  (i)  is  an  example  of 
radiation  which  takes  a  number  of  forms,  the  es- 
sence of  all  of  which  is  the  equal  grouping  of 
units  around  a  center.  Figure  (j)  exemplifies 
informal  balance,  in  which  the  distribution  of  in- 
terest is  not  quite  so  obvious  as  in  symmetry  or  in 
radiation.  The  interest  however  must  still  be  so 


COLOR    . 


COLOR     BALANCE. 


(zC)  Flat   color,    monotonous,  (b)  Rivalry.   Cc)Unlty     within 
variety,    (cl )  Detached     5pottLn0,  "jumpy  '.    (e)ancT(f) 
JumpLn"e55       eliminated      by     inbroductnO      untFyLnO      el 
ements.    Co)  Symmetry.   Ch)  x5cale     L.llu5tratLn0     sym- 
metry.   Ci;  Radiation.    Cj)  Informal     balance.    Ck)  ScaJe 

balance 


el- 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT    65 

adjusted  that  the  design  balances  at  its  center. 
Figure  (k)  illustrates  the  principle  somewhat 
crudely  in  a  scale  with  uneven  arms,  on  which 
a  larger  weight  of  interest  at  or  near  the  center 
will  balance  a  smaller  weight  further  removed. 

Proportion  in  Color  Arrangement.  Proportion 
in  color  composition  results  from  an  arrangement 
of  colors  on  such  a  plan  that  there  is  a  feeling  of 
relation  in  the  variety  of  their  measures.  The 
moment  a  line  is  curved  there  is  introduced  an  ele- 
ment of  measured  relationship.  In  the  simplest 
arc  (a)  on  Plate  XII  there  is  the  proportion  of  the 
length  of  the  curve  to  its  depth.  In  the  double 
curve  (b)  besides  the  proportion  in  each  of  the 
elements  of  the  double  curve  there  is  the  propor- 
tion of  the  upper  to  the  lower  which  is  1  to  1.  In 
(c)  this  proportion  is  changed  to  2:3.  This 
change  increases  its  interest.  There  is  still  unity, 
but  there  is  more  variety.  In  (d),  the  point  at 
which  the  greatest  width  occurs  is  changed  in  each 
section  of  the  curve,  so  that  still  further  variety 
enters.  The  effect  is  a  still  greater  interest.  The 
author  cannot  quite  follow  the  Greeks  in  their 
plea  for  the  golden  mean,  and  an  absolutely  mathe- 
matical formula  for  proportion  (the  Golden  Mean 
was  approximately  3:5),  but  these  curves  should 
demonstrate  that  a  line  increases  in  its  grace- 
fulness, in  proportion  to  the  elements  of  con- 
trast and  variety,  when  these  are  so  combined 
in  its  measures  that  the  effect  is  nevertheless  a 
unity. 


66  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Figure  (e)  illustrates  a  vase  combining  curves 
of  long  and  short  arcs.  Figure  (f)  illustrates  a 
long  slender  vase  of  sinuous  curvature.  These 
two  can  be  used  to  illustrate  a  very  interest- 
ing point  made  by  the  proprietor  of  a  famous 
pottery  firm.  In  the  course  of  a  conversation, 
on  the  chemistry  of  color  in  pottery,  he  remarked 
that  a  change  in  the  shapes  of  some  of  their  more 
recent  vases  had  made  necessary  a  change  of  color 
scheme.  Pointing  to  some  vases  more  or  less  like 
(f )  in  shape  he  explained  that  the  typical  delicate 
pastel  tints  and  shades  of  Rookwood  wares  which 
suited  the  "feminine"  hues  of  such  vases  had  to 
be  abandoned  as  incongruous  for  "  masculine " 
forms  like  (e).  The  chemists  therefore  had  to  ex- 
periment with  "  masculine  "  colors.  All  of  which 
was  an  interesting  way  of  expressing  the  thought 
that  colors  should  harmonize  with  the  shape  of 
the  form  they  decorate. 

In  figure  (g)  a  vertical  panel  is  divided  into 
halves.  This  makes  an  uninteresting  relation  of 
measures,  whether  in  a  landscape,  a  door  panel,  a 
wall  panel,  or  in  a  border-band  for  a  vase.  In 
figure  (h)  three  bands,  white,  black  and  gray,  illus- 
trate not  only  an  uninteresting  relation  of  meas- 
ures but  also  top-heaviness.  Figure  (i)  illus- 
trates interesting  variety  in  the  measure  relations, 
in  which  the  different  oblongs  are  agreeable  in 
their  variety,  and  each  rectangle  considered  indi- 
vidually has  pleasing  proportion  of  width  and 
height. 


PLATL.      XII 


CO  LOR     A  R  RANG  E.W  £  W^H 


PROPORTION      IN     COLOR. 


O     Q 


8 


•nninnnenuii 


lllimilHIHIIIIIIIII      'Illlllll 


' 


(a)  Cb)  CO  Cd)  Grace     tKrouon     variety    LH    line    proportion. 
Ce)Cf)  Mascutme     and     Feminine    proporttons.    SpactnO 
tn  Cg)  unLnterebtLn0.  (h)  Is  vague    in    5pactno.  (i)and  (j) 
Interesting     space     relations.  ClO and  (0 Illustrate    mood 
proportion,     slender    Grace     versus    heavy 


t_n 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT   67 

Dominance.  Elaboration  of  Detail  vs.  Simplic- 
ity. In  color  combination  and  in  color  arrange- 
ment the  scheme  looks  best  when  the  decorator  has 
a  clear  idea  in  mind  and  develops  His  plan  so  that 
the  idea  carries.  A  color  combination  may  be 
warm,  cool,  high  pitched,  somber,  chaste,  sim- 
ple, severe.  A  window  display  of  hats  may  be 
planned  as  a  spring  poem  in  colors.  Starting 
with  this  idea,  the  designer  would  choose  a  color 
combination  which  would  suggest  spring.  This 
might  be  accomplished  by  a  blue  grayed  hanging 
against  which  a  tracery  of  cherry  blossoms  would 
frame  in  the  one  dominant  note  of  a  richly  flowered 
hat.  The  result  would  exemplify  a  dominant  idea 
carried  out  with  simplicity. 

This  simplicity  is  an  ideal  worth  while,  but  it 
must  not  be  misunderstood  to  mean  monotony  and 
emptiness  of  interest.  Just  as  the  great  compos- 
ers in  music  attain  a  strong  and  simple  dominance 
of  effect,  through  the  very  repetitions  of  the  theme 
with  elaboration  and  variation  of  its  detail,  so  the 
color  composer  can  compose,  combining  a  strong 
central  dominant  idea  with  interesting  elaboration 
of  detail  in  the  accessories.  In  many  color  prob- 
lems there  are  opportunities  for  this  combination 
of  rich  variety  in  detail  with  simplicity  of  central 
mood.  The  design  can  be  so  planned  that  all  the 
details  of  line  and  color  carry  the  eye  by  simple 
and  easy  steps  to  the  climax  of  the  composition. 
See  Plate  XIII  to  compare  symmetry  and  infor- 
mal balance,  for  the  opportunities  of  combining 


68  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

dominance  with  variety  and  elaboration  of  detail. 

Mood  in  Colors  and  in  Color  Arrangements. 
Chapter  XVII  contains  a  study  of  color  moods 
with  the  emphasis  on  individual  colors  as  such,  but 
this  is  a  limited  view  of  the  subject.  For  though 
individual  colors  affect  us  in  various  ways,  it  is 
in  various  combinations  and  above  all  in  various 
arrangements  that  the  fullest  emotional  sugges- 
tiveness  of  color  is  called  forth.  In  the  chapter  re- 
ferred to  it  is  pointed  out  that  light  colors  seem 
gayer  than  dark  colors,  warm  colors  seem  more 
stimulating  than  cool  colors,  pure  colors  seem 
more  exciting  than  grayed  colors.  Dark  colors 
seem  sombre,  mysterious,  sedate,  sober,  stately. 
Grayed  colors  seem  sophisticated,  melancholy, 
tender. 

But  these  qualities  of  the  different  colors  will 
depend  largely  on  the  combinations  and  the  ar- 
rangements in  which  they  appear.  Yellow  and 
orange  in  broad  swirling  curves  on  a  dark  ground 
would  look  flame-like  and  dramatic.  The  same 
yellow  in  an  embroidered  cross  stitch  on  a  blue 
•color  would  create  an  effect  similar  to  a  pizzicatto 
passage  played  on  the  violin,  against  a  broad  ob- 
ligato  background. 

Much  of  the  mood  depends  on  the  light  and  dark 
^contrast  in  the  colors  which  is  a  prime  means  to 
dramatic  effect ;  on  the  shapes  of  the  color  masses 
which  may  range  from  a  soft  legato  curve  like  the 
meander,  to  an  angular  staccato  effect  as  in  an 


PLATE.        XIII 


COLOR     ARRAlNQ£,ML!Nf 


BALANCE: 


b 


INFORMAL     BALANCE.    DOniNANCL 


These     &re     purely    schematic      il lustrations     of    two 
types     of    composition.    Dominance     &nd     subordination 
are      exemplified      in     the     distribution     of    the     ele- 
ments.   Most     color     problems     can    be    composed     on 
the      model     of  (b)    with     greater     opportunities     for 
Lnberesti.no'      effects. 


THE  ART  OF  COLOR  ARRANGEMENT   69 

angular  silhouette  sharply  detached  from  the 
ground  or  field. 

Tender  moods  are  evoked  by  gray  and  grayed 
hues  such  as  soft  blues,  combined  with  delicate 
yellow  greens,  pale  pinks  and  blue-greens,  light 
violet  and  light  gray  green. 

Cool  light  grays  without  a  balance  of  warmth 
are  likely  to  seem  elusive,  over-subtle  and  lacking 
in  vitality.  Warm  grays  without  a  balance  of 
cool  are  a  trifle  saccharine  and  too  scented  in  sug- 
gestion. Yellow  oranges  and  reds  in  pure  notes 
will  give  a  flushed  effect,  over  hot  and  irritating. 
Cool  colors,  pure  blues,  greens  and  violets  in  low 
tones  seem  oppressively  cold  in  suggestion. 

For  special  purposes  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to 
depart  from  the  balanced  harmony.  If  the  de- 
signer wishes  to  suggest  an  exotic  and  tropical  ef- 
fect, he  may  deliberately  compose  in  hot  tones 
without  a  proper  balance  of  blue.  If  it  is  his  ob- 
ject in  a  poster  for  a  play  or  the  cover  for  a  book  to 
suggest  the  element  of  mystery  and  terror  in  the 
plot,  he  might  deliberately  choose  shrill  high  value 
blue  greens  and  black. 


CHAPTEE  V 


. 

COLOR  IN  DRESS^J 


Self-expression  in  Dress.  Color,  like  music, 
.may  be  studied  either  for  the  possibilities  of  en- 
joyment which  it  affords,  or  for  the  sake  of  self- 
expression.^  But  unlike  music  the  opportunities 
an3.~ffie"  occasions  for  self-expression  in  color  are 
more  intimately  associated  with  the  needs  of  daily 
life.  There  is  an  almost  constant  demand  upon 
the  individual  to  make  choices  of  color  in  dress, 
in  the  home,  in  business  detail;  selections  which 
are  self-expressive  since  they  may  reveal  culti- 
vation and  taste,  or  on  the  contrary  a  lack  of 
judgment. 

Few  people  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  them- 
selves as  artists  in  relation  to  that  part  of  their 
environment  which  they  themselves  help  to  fash- 
ion, but  when  a  woman  plans  a  gown  she  is  build- 
ing up  a  picture  in  which,  just  as  in  a  painted 
picture,  or  in  a  cathedral,  the  masses, 


the  colors  must;  be  well  organized,  rhythmi- 
cally balanced,  proportionate  and  fit.  The  fact 
that  the  average  woman  does  not  actually  make 
her  own  clothes  does  not  completely  militate 
against  self  -expression  nor  does  it  entirely  relieve 
her  of  responsibility. 

70 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  71 

For  it  is  in  the  choice,  in  the  assembling  and 
in  the  arrangement  of  color  effects  that  the  artist 
in  dress  can  still  reveal  herself.  The  painter  does 
not  grind  his  own  colors,  nor  does  he  prepare  his 
own  canvas.  The  colors  he  works  with  have  a 
range  of  light  and  dark  which  is  quite  limited 
compared  with  the  range  of  nature.  But  it  is  in 
what  he  actually  does  within  the  limitations  of  his 
pigments  and  their  qualities  that  he  stands  re- 
vealed. So  in  dress  it  is  within  the  given  limita- 
tions thait  the  individual  may  still  find  means  of 
revealing  character  and  taste. 

The  ultimate  test  for  each  of  us  must  be  either 
the  expert,  or  our  own  trained  judgment.  The 
personal  advice  of  the  expert  is  expensive  and  in 
any  event  the  slightest  untutored  addition  made 
by  the  wearer  might  completely  spoil  the  effect. 
The  adventure  and  joy  of  color  expression  are 
missed  by  those  who  walk  in  color  combinations 
decreed  for  them  by  specialists,  or  who  live  in 
homes,  every  detail  of  which  has  been  arranged 
by  professional  decorators.  There  is  the  distinct 
pleasure  of  creation  in  designing  one's  color^ 
schemes  upon  a  foundation  of  observation  and  ex- 
perience, and  there  is  joy  in  the  sense  of  growing 
skill.  If  this  worth-while  skill  is  to  be  acquired, 
the  training  of  the  eye  and  mind  must  be  under- 
taken, not  necessarily  as  a  task  but  in  a  spirit  of 
play. 

Cultivating  Observation  in  Dress  Harmonies. 
People  interested  in  dress  will  find  endless  pleas- 


72  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ure  in  analyzing  the  color  schemes  of  those  oppo- 
site them  in  cars  and  subways,  on  the  street,  the 
boardwalk,  or  the  beach.  Any  fairly  well-gowned 
woman  may  be  selected  for  observation,  and  her 
clothes  judged  as  a  color  composition  in  relation 
to  her  face  and  figure.  How  could  the  errors  have 
n  avoided?  How  could  the  result  even  as  it 
stands  be  helped  by  the  removal  of  a  detail  in 
trimming,  a  change  of  color  in  the  hat,  or  the  ad- 
dition of  a  color  note  in  sash  or  collar. 

Just  as  painters  go  to  the  art  galleries  to  study 
the  masters  and  the  works  of  their  contemporaries, 
so  must  the  woman  interested  in  dress  criticize  the 
dress  creations  of  the  leading  designers  with  a 
conscious  application  of  color  principles. 

The  woman  in  search  of  interesting  color 
schemes  should,  however,  go  further  than  the  field 
of  dress.  At  the  art  museums,  looking  at  the 
draped  statue,  she  can  sensitize  her  eye  and  train 
her  judgment  to  the  possibilities  of  rhythm  in 
draping.  In  the  master  paintings  old  and  modern 
she  can  obtain  hints  about  color  organization  from 
Vermeer,  Titian,  Veronese,  Whistler  and  Monet. 
In  the  pottery,  tiles,  enamels,  and  rugs  she  will  find 
many  strange  and  effective  color  chords  which  she 
can  adopt  for  her  purposes.  In  the  coloring  of  na- 
ture likewise,  in  flowers,  in  leaves,  in  seashells,  in 
butterflies,  the  searcher  has  ample  opportunities 
for  noting  harmonies  exquisite  and  suggestive. 

Dress  designing,  just  as  any  other  practical  ap- 
plication of  color,  involves  considerations  which 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  73 

have  been  treated  in  Chapters  II,  III  and  IV. 
The  principles  of  color  fitness  or  adaptation  of 
color  to  use,  to  material,  to  shape  and  construc- 
tion ;  the  principles  of  color  combination,  the  prin- 
ciples of  color  arrangement,  all  apply.  In  the 
earlier  chapters  these  principles  were  stated  in 
their  general  terms.  This  chapter  is  devoted  to  a 
study  of  their  more  specific  applications  to  dress. 
-  Making  a  Color  Scheme  Practical.  A  color 
scheme  which  is  harmonious  in  its  choice  and  ar- 
rangement of  hues,  might  nevertheless  violate 
the  sense  of  harmony  through  lack  of  suitability. 
^The  pure  colors  of  children's  summer  dresses, 
hats  and  socks,  which  make  them  look  like  so  many 
flowers,  might  be  most  agreeable  as  color  combi- 
nation and  even  as  color  spotting,  but  the  very 
same  colors  and  arrangement  on  the  matron  of  a 
hospital  would  offend.  The  color  arrangement 
which  would  look  well  on  the  tall  slim  young 
woman,  broad  collar,  broad  sash,  broad  border 
band  at  base,  would  offend  on  the  short  stout 
woman.  Endless  examples  could  be  furnished 
to  prove  that  harmony  in  an  applied  color  scheme 
requires  more  than  a  unity  within  the  scheme 
itself.  There  must  be  an  adaptation  of  the  color 
scheme  to  the  practical  needs  and  to  the  associa- 
tions of  the  given  object. 

Adaptation  to  Use  or  Function.  The  age  and 
social  position  of  the  wearer ;  the  function  at  which 
the  gown  is  to  be  worn ;  the  season  and  place  in 
which  it  is  to  be  "  set ";  these  and  many  others  are 


74  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

conditions  which  should  be  kept  in  mind  in  choos- 
ing a  color  scheme. 

~  "The  flowers  that  bloom  in  the  spring,  tra  la, 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  face7'  is  the  thought 
which  occurred  to  the  writer  when  he  saw  a  woman 
of  severe  features,  stern  expression  and  sallow 
complexion,  bedecked  with  a  hat  which  was  a  veri- 
table flower  shop.  Yet  the  hat,  considered  by  it- 
self, was  not  badly  designed.  A  younger  woman 
of  rose  tinted  cheeks,  vital  complexion  and  laugh- 
ing eyes  could  have  carried  off  its  rich  spotting 
without  arousing  a  feeling  of  incongruity.  The 
woman  of  maturer  years  would  do  well  to  observe 
a  certain  restraint,  avoiding  frivolous  colors  and 
gay  springtime  effects.  A  love  of  warm  colors 
and  even  of  the  spotting  of  pure  colors  could  be 
indulged  without  violating  the  sense  of  the  fitness 
of  color  scheme. 

Another  typical  violation  of  this  principle  of 
fitness  to  function  is  the  theatrical  type  of  gown 
worn  to  business  by  many  stenographers  and  sales- 
girls. There  is  ample  room  for  taste  and  color 
effect  without  resorting  to  the  extreme  of  dance 
frocks  for  the  working  hours.  The  exquisite  tex- 
tures and  flower-like  colors  would  look  better 
in  a  little  spray  of  flowers  on  the  window  sill  or 
desk  than  in  the  waist  or  gown  of  the  girl  who  is 
rushed  with  the  details  of  the  day's  routine. 

A  harmony  which  combines  common  sense  and 
neatness  with  agreeable  colors  in  appropriate 
tones  will  make  a  much  more  favorable  impression 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  75 

on  the  average  business  man  than  will  the  more 
purely  decorative  waist  or  dress.  The  endless  ap- 
plications of  this  principle  need  not  be  entered  into 
as  they  are  obvious  enough.  Yet  it  is  just  these 
obvious  facts  which  are  so  little  recognized  and  so 
frequently  neglected.  A  case  in  point  is  that  of 
mothers,  arrayed  in  afternoon  gowns  wheeling 
baby  carriages,  and  obliged  by  regard  for  their 
dress  to  handle  their  own  children  in  a  most  gin- 
gerly manner.  They  become  positively  nervous 
about  getting  themselves  marked  with  the  dust  or 
soil  of  the  carriage  wheels,  but  fail  to  see  the  ob- 
vious moral,  that  their  dress  should  be  suited  in 
color  and  texture  to  its  function.  If  women  rec- 
ognize the  need  of  adaptation  of  dress  to  occasion 
in  a  dancing  gown,  why  not  go  one  step  further 
and  see  the  value  of  deciding  on  a  practical  gown 
for  the  afternoons  in  the  park  with  the  baby?  It 
shows  just  as  poor  taste  to  be  ornately  dressed  in 
the  latter  case  as  to  be  soberly  dressed  in  the 
former.  The  adaptation  of  color  to  season  has 
:  been  more  and  more  pronounced  of  late  years. 
Spring  brings  forth  gay,  joyous  yellow-greens,  yel- 
low-oranges and  reds  on  fields  of  blue  and  green. 
The  summer  clothes  for  outdoors  to  be  seen  in  the 
blazing  sun  on  beaches  or  across  the  fields  are  rich 
and  pure  and  boldly  combined  in  their  color 
schemes.  The  autumn  designs  are  in  browns,  rus- 
sets, oranges  and  purples. 

Adaptation  of  Color  to  Material.    There  is  so 
much  pleasure  in  fine  textures  as  such  that  color 


76  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

harmony  almost  takes  care  of  itself  when  these 
are  used.  There  are  a  number  of  individuals  and 
firms  with  a  nation-wide  reputation  as  dress  de- 
signers, whose  creations  rely  much  more  upon  the 
exquisite  character  of  the  weaves  and  surface  tex- 
tures of  the  materials  which  they  employ,  than  on 
the  actual  quality  of  the  design.  The  eye  is  so 
pleased  by  these  textures  that  critical  judgment 
is  suspended.  Those  very  gowns  would  be  still 
more  enchanting  if  they  presented  a  more  sat- 
isfying harmony  of  hue  and  proportion  to  com- 
bine their  appeals  with  the  appeal  of  texture. 

But  the  problem  for  the  readers  whose  means 
are  limited  is  that  of  ^so  adapting  colors  to  mate- 
rial that  the  simpler  and  less  pretentious  mate- 
rials take  on  maximum  interest  and  effectiveness. 
Even  ginghams  may  receive  such  color  treatment 
from  the  textile  designer  and  such  enhancement 
from  the  decorative  spotting  employed  by  the 
dress  designer  as  to  give  considerable  pleasure  to 
the  eye.  The  less  satisfying  the  texture  is,  the  more 
carefully  considered  must  be  the  color  scheme.  ) 

Adaptation  to  Structure.  The  painter  of  easel 
pictures  has  a  space  to  fill,  within  which  his  lines 
and  colors  may  play  freely,  with  little  other  struc- 
tural thought  than  that  of  a  harmony  between  the 
lines  and  colors  themselves.  The  dress  designer 
is  more  like  an  architect  designing  a  facade  for 
a  building  because  there  are  structural  require- 
ments to  be  considered.  There  must  be  a  founda- 
tion, stories  of  given  sizes,  a  roof;  the  structural 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  77 

lines  must  be  right ;  the  fitness  to  purpose  must  be 
dominant.  Within  the  limitations  of  the  struc- 
tural idea,  the  plan  is  developed. 

So  the  dress  designer  has  the  structural  facts 
of  the  figure  to  consider ;  feet,  limbs,  trunk,  waist- 
line, neck,  face  and  head.  Structurally  the  dress 
must  conform  to  these  facts.  (  And  even  in  color, 
the  arrangement  of  spotting  must  bear  in  mind 
the  fitness  to  the  structure.  )  Dress  design  may  be 
viewed  as  a  problem  similar  to  the  planning  of  the 
front  face  of  a  building. 

The  Figure  as  a  Starting  Point  for  Dress  De- 
signer.  The  figure  then  is  the  starting  point  for 
the  dress  designer  as  the  figure  suggests  the  logi- 
cal points  for  color  variety  and  contrasts.  The 
hat  as  a  sort  of  roof  may  vary  in  color  as  well  as 
structure,  much  as  Dutch  tiled  roofing  varies  from 
Gothic  spires.  The  neck  suggests  the  collar  as  a 
frame  for  the  face,  and  corresponds  in  a  way  to 
the  architrave  beneath  the  pediment  of  a  Greek 
temple.  The  waist-line,  and  the  border-bands  on 
sleeves  also  present  analogies  to  details  of  the 
temple  design. 

Points  of  Emphasis  in  Structure.  It  is  a  prin- 
ciple  of  color  fitness  or  the  adaptation  of  color  to 
structure  that  the  color  contrast  should  be  placed 
xat  the  points  to  be  emphasized.  As  the  head  is 
the  dominant  note  in  the  structure  of  the  figure, 
so  the  climax  of  the  dress,  the  logical  area  of 
greatest  contrast,  should  be  in  the  collar  and  hat 
which  frame  it.  The  hands  may  be  set  off  by  a 


78  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

contrast  in  cuffs ;  a  good  waist  line  may  receive 
color  treatment  which  will  make  the  most  of  its 
suppleness.  When  a  dress  calls  for  a  border  at 
its  base,  it  is  a  mistake  to  make  this  a  contrast 
sufficiently  striking  to  hold  the  eye  long,  for  this 
creates  a  rivalry  between  the  head  and  the  border. 
Shoes  and  hose  should  not  ordinarily  be  rivals  of 
the  head  in  interest,  unless  the  wearer  feels  a  good 
reason  for  transferring  the  interest  from  her  face 
to  her  feet. 

Variety  in  Figures.  Color  and  Proportion*.  It 
is  the  first  problem  of  the  student  of  dress  design 
with  reference  to  her  own  clothes  to  observe  the 
character  of  lines  and  coloring  best  suited  to  her 
structure.  Short  people,  tall  people,  stout  people, 
lean  people,  long-limbed,  or  long-waisted,  short- 
limbed  or  short-waisted,  have  special  problems  to 
face  which  only  careful  observation  and  training 
can  help  them  to  solve. 

There  are  optic  illusions  created  through  line 
movement,  through  simultaneous  contrast  and 
through  the  differences  in  retinal  excitement 
caused  by  different  colors  and  arrangement  which 
can  be  utilized  effectively  in  connection  with  the 
adaptation  of  the  color  scheme  to  the  figure  of  the 
wearer. 

Under  parallelism  in  the  chapter  on  harmony,  it 
is  demonstrated  that  repeating  verticals  empha- 
size height,  and  repeating  horizontals  accentu- 
ate width.  This  is  only  one  of  the  illusions  and 
peculiarities  of  mental  judgment  to  which  color 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  79 

and  color  arrangement  are  subject.  These  pe- 
culiarities of  optic  response  and  mental  judgment 
are  deserving  of  much  more  experimental  study 
than  they  have  received.  A  number  of  the  points 
which  follow  in  the  sections  on  color  with  refer- 
ence to  the  weight  and  height  of  the  figure  have 
not  been  established  according  to  the  methods  of 
experimental  psychology.  Though  based  only  on 
personal  observation  and  on  the  general  attributes 
of  color,  they  may  nevertheless  be  found  useful. 

The  conditions  which  in  the  author's  judgment 
may  make  a  person  seem  longer  or  shorter,  stouter 
or  leaner  follow. 

/  Intensity,  Value  and  Proportion.  Colors  ^ 
equally  warm  or  equally  cold,  equally  high  in  value 
or  equally  low  in  value  will  affect  the  proportions 
differently  according  to  their  purity.  The  purer 
a  color  is,  the  more  eye-filling  it  is,  and  the  more 
likely  to  accent  the  girth  of  a  stout  person,  simply 
by  calling  attention  to  it.  Black  when  dull  of  tex- 
ture offers  the  sharpest  definition  of  contour 
against  the  atmospheric  gray,  and  therefore  tends 
more  than  any  other  color  to  shrink  -the  figure. 

Plasticity  and  Proportion.  Active  Colors.  . 
Under  the  heading  of  activity  in  colors  it  was  ob- 
served (a)  that  certain  colors  like  yellow,  red  and 
orange  tend  to  advance,  while  blue,  green  and  vio- 
let of  equal  intensity  tend  to  recede;  (b)  that  the 
intenser  tones  of  any  of  these  colors  were  more 
active  than  the  duller  tones ;  a  pure  blue  of  a  given 
value  being  more  active  than  a  dull  blue  of  the 


80  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

same  value;  (c)  that  the  higher  values,  intensi- 
ties being  equal,  were  generally  but  not  always 
more  active  than  the  lower  values  of  the  same 
color;  a  high  value  orange  or  green  being  more 
active  and  advancing  than  a  low  value  orange  or 
green  equally  pure  (although  in  the  case  of  values 
much  would  depend  upon  the  background). 

It  was  also  pointed  out  that  the  activity  of  colors 
is  used  by  painters  in  modeling.  Cezanne  ob- 
tained the  fullness  of  form  in  an  apple  or  a  pear 
by  making  the  most  of  this  difference  between  yel- 
low high  lights  which  come  forward  and  grayed 
yellows  which  recede  through  their  reduced  inten- 
sity, followed  by  lower  value  grayed  blues  and 
green-grays  which  recede  still  further,  carrying 
the  eye  back  and  around. 

This  suggestion  of  the  varying  activity  of  colors 
which  the  painter  may  use  deliberately  to  suggest 
volume,  the  dress  designer  may  avoid  in  order  to 
reduce  bulk.  Light  pure  warm  colors,  when 
draped  upon  the  body  take  on  yellow  high  lights 
which  advance,  duller  half  tones  which  recede 
somewhat  and  positive  blue  and  green  shadows 
which  still  further  accentuate  the  movement  of 
planes.  A  stout  arm  or  bust  draped  in  a  goods 
which  is  warm  and  active  in  color  and  sensitive  to 
light  takes  on  plasticity  just  as  does  an  apple  by 
Cezanne. 

It  would  follow  that  the  warm  advancing  colors, 
red,  yellow  and  orange,  increase  girth  and  that 
blue,  green  and  violet  reduce  it.  But  it  must  be 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  81 

remembered  that  intensity  and  value  are  factors 
and  that  (a)  intense  cool  notes  may  become  rela- 
tively active  and  plastic  by  virtue  of  their  inten- 
sity and  that  (b)  high  value  blue  greens  and  vio- 
lets may  become  relatively  active. 

The  plastic  effect  of  colors  may  all  be  summed 
in  the  one  proposition  that  colors  which  when 
draped  present  a  marked  progression  from  light 
to  dark,  from  warm  to  cold,  from  advancing  tones 
to  receding  tones,  make  for  the  feeling  of  volume. 
But  this  plasticity  or  gradation  is  partly  depend- 
ent  on  textures. 

Textures  and  Weight.  Even  texture  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  the  matter  of  plasticity. 
Dark  goods  or  even  black  goods  if  shiny  of  tex- 
ture and  hard  of  surface  will  give  the  same  sharp 
contrasts  of  light  and  dark,  warm  and  cold,  as 
tints  of  softer  texture  and  they  will  therefore  tend 
to  emphasize L  bulk.  Textures  with  satin  sheen  or 
metal  lustre  or  other  light  reflecting,  eye-filling 
plastic  properties  are  not  meant  for  the  over  stout 
who  do  not  glory  in  their  bulk. 

Black  satin  is  favored  by  the  "vampires"  of  the 
stage  because  of  its  twofold  effect  in  that  as  black 
it  makes  the  figure  seem  additionally  long,  and  as 
a  plastic  black,  it  reveals  the  modeling  of  the  body 
and  makes  the  most  of  its  sinuous  snake-like 
curves.  Hard  textures  even  if  dark  will  empha- 
size volume  more  than  soft  textures  of  the  same 
hue  and  intensity,  because  the  soft  textures  will 
fall  in  long  vertical  lines,  whereas  the  harder  tex- 


82  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

tures  will  break  sharply,  carrying  the  eye  in  all 
directions.  Mixtures  of  lively  surface,  since  they 
increase  retinal  stimulation,  may  also  tend  to  in- 
crease apparent  volume. 

;      Surface  Pattern  and  Proportion.    Parallelism. 

*  Heavy  people  may  seem  slimmer  in  a  vertically 
striped  goods,  if  the  contrast  in  the  stripes  is  very 
slight  so  that  the  stripe  is  felt  rather  than  seen. 
A  positively  contrasting  striped  effect,  however, 
creates  too  lively  a  surface  for  a  stout  person  to 
wear,  as  it  tends  to  draw  undue  attention  to  the 
figure.  Unless  it  be  vertical  striping,  surface 
pattern  generally,  whether  flowered  or  abstract 
in  spotting,  is  very  likely  to  prove  a  poor  scheme 
for  the  dress  goods  of  stout  people. 

These  will  also  quite  naturally  look  stocky 
through  the  introduction  of  any  horizontal  panel- 
ing or  border  bands.  All  edgings  and  leading 
lines  should,  wherever  possible,  move  up  and 
down  instead  of  horizontally.  The  cut  of  the  neck 
and  collar  is  particularly  important  in  this  re- 
spect. Slim  people  on  the  contrary  can  make  the 
most  of  horizontal  borders  and  paneling  to  in- 
crease their  apparent  width  if  they  so  wish. 

Vertical  paneling  is  another  aid  to  reduced 
width  and  can  be  effectively  used  by  the  stout  when 
there  is  little  contrast,  between  the  panels  and  the 
faody  of  the  goods.  Vertical  parallelism  is  possi- 
ble not  only  in  the  effect  of  the  collar  and  in  the 
skirt,  but  even  in  the  waist  which  can  be  designed 
in  panels.  See  Plates  XIV  and  XV. 


PLAJL 


CAMOUFLAGL 
IN 
DE1SIGIN 


(a)  Vertical  parallelism,  narrow  shoulders,  long  collars  and 
panel,  emphasize  slenderness.  (k)  and  Cc)  norizontal  par- 
allelism offsets  slenderness  and  creates  illusion  of  oreab-> 


er     WL 


dtn.    figures  CO  ana.CcJ   are    LaenticeJ     in    outline ^ 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  83 

Color  Combinations  in  Dress  Design.  Apart 
from  the  practical  considerations  which  govern 
the  choice  of  color  in  dress,  there  now  enter  the 
principles  governing  colors  as  such.  Colors  we 
have  seen  are  forces  and  as  such  they  are  governed 
by  laws  which  have  been  experimentally  demon- 
strated. Those  experiments  which  illustrated  the 
principles  of  eye  fatigue  through  over-stimulation, 
oomplementarism  and  simultaneous  contrast 
should  be  repeated  at  this  point,  from  a  slightly 
new  angle.  The  experiments  for  color  combina- 
tion should  now  be  repeated  with  the  color  of  the 
face  as  one  of  the  color  notes.  Complementarism 
and  simultaneous  contrast  should  now  be  consid- 
..  ered  with  reference  to  their  influence  upon  the  face. 

But  apart  from  this  phase  of  color  combination, 
the  more  elementary  considerations  of  type  of 
combination  may  be  considered.  From  this  point 
of  view  the  progressive  analysis  on  pages  48  to  55 
is  useful  since  it  demonstrates  the  sobriety  of 
black,  whites  and  grays,  the  safety  of  self -tones, 
the  desirability  of  a  complementary  with  self- 
tones,  the  possibilities  of  a  scheme  of  two  or  more 
colors  in  related  hues,  the  dangers  of  pure  com- 
plementaries  in  broad  masses  of  each,  the  de- 
sirability of  complement aries  when  properly 
modified. 


The  Face  and  Personality  in  Dress  Design. 
Though  a  choice  of  dress  goods  must  first  be 
planned  with  reference  to  the  figure  as  a  whole, 
the  face  should  be  the  dominant  feature  in  the 


84  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

plan,  just  as  is  the  pediment  in  the  Greek  temple. 
The  colors  should  progress  in  interest  as  they  ap- 
proach the  face ;  they  should  frame  in  and  set  off 
the  face,  enhancing  its  attractiveness./  Under  the 
heading  of  color  observation  and  criticism,  it  may 
now  be  added  that  each  person  should  study  others 
of  similar  type  of  facial  coloring,  expression,  and 
figure,  in  order  to  get  hints  from  their  conspicuous 
success  or  obvious  failures.  For  no  matter  how 
detailed  a  study  of  color  in  dress  the  writer  may 
essay,  many  possible  subtleties  of  color  combina- 
tion and  arrangements  which  an  observing  person 
may  thus  discover  escape  either  classification  or 
description. 

Enhancing  vs.  Supplanting  the  Face.  In  ap- 
plied ornament  the  object  decorated  must  always 
retain  its  character  and  remain  of  prime  impor- 
tance. The  ornament  is  secondary,  it  is  intended 
to  enhance  the  interest  of  the  object,  not  to  sup- 
plant it.  Thus  a  wood  carving  for  a  chest  which 
completely  obscures  the  function  of  the  chest  and 
becomes  so  separately  interesting  as  to  make  one 
see  it  as  a  thing  detached,  would  be  over-reaching 
itself  as  decoration.  The  chest  and  its  function 
as  a  chest  should  remain  dominant.  Dress  is  in 
a  sense  applied  ornament  and  must  therefore  al- 
ways be  thought  of  with  reference  to  the  figure 
and  face  which  it  decorates.  It  should,  if  well  de- 
signed, enhance  the  interest  of  these.  Under  no 
circumstances  should  it  supplant  these  in  interest, 


PLATE:    xv 


CAMOUFLAGE          w 

IN 
DRE155    DL5IGN 


(&)  horizontal      parallelism,     broad     shoulders,     wide    colUr 
^nd    fcll    over    pattern,    emphasize     width.  Cb)  ^nd  Cc)  Vertical 
parallelism     offsets     heaviness     ^nd    creates     illusion     or 
greater     lenotn.    R.0ures  (&)  d>nd  Cb)  are     tdenticevl     in     outline. 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  85 

so  that  the  face  and  figure  become  secondary  to  the 
dress. 

Color  Schemes,  Character  and  Auras.  Every 
now  and  then  there  appears  in  the  papers  an  item 
about  the  matching  of  color  to  the  inner  characters 
of  people.  It  would  seem,  according  to  the  writ- 
ers, that  everybody  has  an  aura,  a  sort  of  colored 
emanation,  radiating  from  and  surrounding  the 
physical  body.  This  aura  is  supposed  to  har- 
monize with  the  character.  Miss  Beatrice  Irwin, 
in  her  book,  "The  New  Science  of  Color, "  claims 
that  people  demand  one  color  or  another  in  their 
environment,  depending  upon  their  state  of  being. 
She  classifies  colors  as  physically,  mentally  or 
spiritually  stimulating,  sedative  and  recuperative. 
Miss  Irwin  believes  that  the  soul,  the  body  and  the 
mind  demand  in  the  colors  surrounding  them  the 
complement  of  their  own  state.  Thus  a  person 
over-stimulated  physically  would  demand  a  physi- 
cal sedative  in  color.  A  person  over-relaxed  and 
rested  spiritually  would  demand  a  spiritually 
stimulating  color.  So  too  with  mental  colors. 

Whether  or  not  we  follow  the  believers  in  this 
relation  between  character  and  color  auras  or 
color  complements,  personal  expression  and  char- 
acter must  be  considered  very  important  in  de- 
termining the  kind  of  color  schemes  which  will 
best  harmonize  with  the  character  of  the  head. 

The  weaker  the  face  in  general  character,  the 
quieter  must  be  the  scheme.  Otherwise  the  face 


86  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

is  lost  far  behind  the  colors  which  should  be  fram- 
ing it.  The  more  characterful  the  head  and  per- 
sonality, the  more  daringly  pronounced  may  be  the 
color  scheme.  It  takes  a  very  vivacious  person  to 
compete  with  active  coloring.  It  takes  a  very  soft 
and  engagingly  youthful  face  to  compete  with  a 
sombre  black  dress  and  win  out  on  its  youthful- 
ness.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  pointed  out 
that  the  head  which  is  strong  in  character  requires 
no  strong  contrasts ;  and  that  the  weak  and  char- 
acterless may  demand  a  note  of  liveliness  in  their 
dress  design  to  offset  their  general  lack  of  mag- 
netism. 

Since  the  face  is  to  be  dominant,  except  for  spe- 
cial reasons  there  should  be  no  strong  rivalry  cre- 
ated between  the  face  and  some  far  removed  spot 
of  color.  Thus  bright  hosiery,  a  strongly  con- 
trasting sash  or  border  band  on  the  skirt,  are  notes 
which,  though  effective  in  a  general  theatrical  en- 
semble, as  in  a  ballet  effect,  are  likely  to  prove 
trying  in  an  individual  costume,  where  the  face 
must  compete  with  the  far  removed  colors.  A 
rhythm  of  color  in  which  the  eye  is  led  by  steps 
through  increasing  or  decreasing  values,  or  in- 
tensities from  the  feet  to  the  face  is  a  plausible 
scheme.  The  use  of  the  richest  contrasts  in  the 
hair,  neck-band  or  collar  to  keep  the  face  domi- 
nantly  framed  is  also  structurally  correct. 

Difficulty  of  Classification.  If  the  face,  includ- 
ing its  color  notes  of  complexion,  eyes  and  hair 
is  an  important  item  in  good  design,  it  would  seem 


COLOR  IN  DKESS 


87 


advisable  to  classify  people  according  to  facial 
type  and  to  make  suggestions  on  the  basis  of  such 
a  classification.  But  this  is  almost  impossible. 
An  attempt  at  a  classification  necessarily  quite 
crude  is  the  following: 


Type  —  Hair 

1.  Light   blondes. 

a  Flaxen 
b  Light  gold 
c  Golden 

2.  Chestnut  Blondes 

d  Golden  brown 

3.  Red   Haired   Blondes 

e  Light  red 

f  Golden  red 
g  Orange  red 

4.  Olive   Brunettes 

h  Black  or  brown 

5.  Warm   Brunettes 

i  Black  or  brown 


Face 

Ashen  grays 
Pinks  and  creams 
Yellows,   pinks,   reds 

Any   of  above 

Pale   yellows,   pinks. 

greens 

Yellows,  pinks,  greens 
Orange,   reds,   greens 

Greens,  reds 

Reds,  greens,  pinks, 
cream 


Eyes 
Green,    gray,    blue 


Green,    gray,    blue, 

brown 
Blue,    green,   gray. 

brown 


Brown 

Black,    brown,    blue 


To  complicate  matters  and  make  classification 
still  more  difficult  there  are  the  added  conditions 
of  feature,  sharp  or  soft;  of  expression,  forceful 
or  weak ;  of  complexion,  vital  or  anaemic  and  sal- 
low; of  lustre  or  dullness  in  hair,  all  of  which 
should  be  considered  in  planning  color  schemes, 
which  will  be  truly  adapted  to  their  function; — 
that  of  enhancing  the  personality  of  the  wearer. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Dress.  If  the  color 
schemes  are  to  increase  the  interest  and  attractive- 
ness of  the  face,  obviously  where  the  complexion 
is  good  and  the  coloring  of  the  face  positive,  the 
principle  of  simultaneous  contrast  is  the  one  to 
apply.  If  at  this  point  the  experiments  for  color 
contrasts  will  be  repeated  the  importance  of  this 
principle  in  dress  design  will  be  more  fully  real- 
ized. The  use  of  the  colored  papers  reveals  that 


88  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

blue  throws  yellow  into  its  adjacent  colors;  and 
that  moreover  it  enhances  yellow  alongside  of  it. 
Similarly  orange  or  yellow  enhance  blue  and  black. 

JjighLgolden  blondes  will  tfe#a4ook  best  in  blue- 
green,  violet  and  their  compounds,  which  set  off 
the  rich  beautiful  yellow  warmth  of  the  face  and 
hair,  ^lack-haired  brunettes  with  the  deep  blue 
glints  in  hair  and  eyebrows  will  look  best  in  the 
contrast  of  reds,  yellow  or  orange  and  their  com- 
pounds, high  pitched  warm  colors  which  will  "ac- 
centuate the  rich  depth  of  the  blue  blacks  in  their 
hair  and  eyes.  On  the  same  principle  people  who 
are  red-haired  may  wear  green,  blacks  and  blue- 
.greens  to  add  through  contrast  to  the  warmth  and 
richness  of  their  hair  and  the  glow  of  their  com- 
plexions. Che^nut_blp^.desJ__like ^golden  blondes, 
may  wear  blues,  greens  or  violets.  But  in  each 
case  the  exact  character  of  the  facial  coloring  and 
/  other  modifying  conditions  must  be  considered. 

Angel  Harmonies  for  Blondes.  In  the  case  of 
blondes,  the  soft  featured  kind  can,  if  animated  in 
expression,  wear  almost  any  color,  related  or  com- 
plementary colors,  high  or  low  in  value.  Blondes 
however  should  as  a  rule  avoid  larger  masses  of 
pure  warm  colors  near  the  face  as. these  are  likely 
to  jmtrival  the  delicate  tints  of  the  complex- 
ion. If  the  values  are  high  and  the  intensity 
about  the  same  as  the  flesh  tones  the  result  is  an 
•" angel"  effect.  The  lack  of  contrast  makes  for 
softness  of  effect,  and  the  mild  radiance  of  the 
face  and  hair  gives  that  note  of  heavenly  lightness 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  89 

which  Fra  Angelico  used  in  his  paintings  of  angels 
to  suggest  other-worldliness. 

This  incidentally  is  related  to  the  "apparent 
weight "  of  colors;  the  high  value  tints  and  grays 
seeming  lighter  in  weight  than  low  value  shades 
and  pure  tones.  Of  course  the  large  figured 
blonde  will  not  attempt  the  "angel"  harmonies 
which  are  incongruous  in  her  case,  but  will  prefer 
the  effectiveness  of  the  darker  colors  which,  while 
enhancing  the  head,  reduce  the  figure.  The  soft 
featured  blonde  can  also  wear  black  or  very  dark 
colors  of  contrasting  hue  if  instead  of  seeking  a 
rather  diffuse  charm  in  the  whole  figure,  she 
wishes  to  make  the  face  dominant  and  '  '  fetching. ' ' 

Brunettes  and  Youthfulness.  In  the  case  of 
people  of  dark  complexion  the  problem  of  charac- 
ter in  coloring  is  also  present.  The  youthful  bru- 
nette, particularly  if  olive,  will  look  matronly  if 
she  wears  unrelieved  dark  colors ;  for  if  slim  this 
framing  in  of  her  features  will  make  them  seem 
sharp;  if  fuller  of  form  this  darkness  of  scheme 
tends  towards  the  appearance  of  maturity. 

Analogous  harmony  then  is  as  a  rule  too  som- 
bre for  the  brunette.  The  warm  tinted  brunette 
of  creamy  complexion  if  she  wears  blue,  should 
choose  this  in  the  higher  values,  and  of  a  fairly 
pure  kind.  Warmer  notes,  high  pitched  and  stim- 
ulating, are,  however  more  generally  desirable  be- 
cause through  simultaneous  contrast  they  give  a 
deeper  lustre  to  the  blue  blacks  of  the  hair.  When 
the  type  has  a  glowing  warmth  of  complexion, 


90  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

flashing  eyes  and  white  teeth,  the  dress  goods  may 
be  very  dark  with  just  a  touch  of  brighter  empha- 
sis, rose  or  orange  in  the  trimmings.  As  a  rule, 
however,  the  darker  schemes  had  better  be  selected 
among  the  warm  colors,  deep  reds,  oranges,  yel- 
lows, browns  or  their  compounds,  rather  than 
among  the  cool  colors,  for  the  effect  of  contrast 
on  the  hair  and  eyes. 

There  is  something  about  pastel  tints  and  odd 
color  compounds  in  high  values  which  prevents 
them  from  going  well  with  the  duller  browns  and 
blacks  of  the  brunettes  of  olive  type.  If  the  dress 
goods  is  exquisitely  delicate  the  face  cannot  com- 
pete. In  this  respect  brunettes  differ  from  blondes 
who  frequently  gain  from  the  framing  of  a  deli- 
cate pastel  tint  in  the  collar  or  hat  which  blends 
well  with  the  pearly  tints  of  the  face. 

The  olive  brunette  must  particularly  avoid  blue 
and  black  near  the  face  as  these  make  it  look  yel- 
low-green. If  she  would  avoid  sombreness  she 
should  wear  warm  colors,  not  too  low  in  value. 
If  blue  or  black  are  dhosen,  they  must  at  least  be 
separated  from  the  face  by  a  broad  collar  of  dif- 
ferent hue. 

The  Red  Haired.  Lemon  Tinted,  Orange  and 
Tangerine.  The  red  haired  who  are  of  the  tan- 
gerine type  and  who  incline  to  excessive  redness  of 
face,  if  they  do  not  wish  to  look  too  positively 
colorful,  must,  as  a  rule,  avoid  black,  which  may 
force  the  flesh  tones  to  grow  over-reddish  and 
flushed ;  they  must  avoid  intense  blues  and  greens, 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  91 

even  delicate  blue-green,  cool  compounds  and  black 
which  will  intensify  this  orange  glow.  Orange- 
browns  and  dark  reds  are  preferable  to  cool  colors 
in  these  cases.  The  more  delicately  tinted 
"  Titian "  type  in  whose  complexion  creams,  lemon 
yellows,  tints  of  greens  and  pinks  are  blended,  can 
wear  black  or  cool  colors  and  their  compounds, 
most  effectively.  The  orange-colored  type  can 
generally  use  either  scheme  of  coloring  effectively. 

Complexion  as  a  Factor.  In  general  it  may  be  u 
said  that  the  woman  of  poor  complexion  has  quite 
obviously  an  almost  impossible  condition  to  face. 
It  is  one  of  the  functions  of  dress  from  a  color 
point  of  view  to  enhance  the  interest  and  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  face  by  setting  off  its  quality,  but 
the  most  that  can  be  done  for  a  bad  complexion 
through  color  in  dress  is  negative. 

A  sallow  person  should  not  wear  blue,  for  that 
would  emphasize  the  yellows  in  the  face.  Black 
also  tends  to  make  a  sallow  face  more  yellow. 
Almost  any  warm  color  considerably  grayed  and 
not  too  dark,  is  preferable  to  a  cool  blue  or  blue- 
violet  which  emphasizes  the  yellow  in  the  face ;  or 
to  a  very  dark  color,  even  though  warm,  which 
emphasizes  its  pallor.  Dulled  green  will  tend,  if 
lustreless  in  texture,  to  offset  the  yellowness  of 
the  face  by  emphasizing  whatever  little  flush  of 
pink  there  may  be  in  it. 

Faces  which  are  ashen  or  gray  green,  and  lack- 
ing in  lustre  or  vitality,  without  being  quite  sallow 
or  yellowish,  must  on  the  other  hand  avoid  pure 


92  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

warm  colors  which  accentuate  lack  of  vital 
warmth.  Such  people  look  best  in  dull  greens  not 
too  dark,  or  pure  or  shiny.  The  intenser  the  color 
of  the  dress  the  more  lack-lustre  will  the  face 
seem.  The  rivalry  will  be  too  much  for  it. 

The  problem  of  those  who  have  poor  com- 
plexions is  not  simple  but  there  are  two  reme- 
dies, a  quick  one  and  a  slower  one.  Eouge  and 
paint  is  one  way  of  meeting  the  difficulty,  by  ac- 
tually heightening  the  color  of  the  face  so  that 
it  will  hold  its  own  alongside  of  the  color  of  the 
dress.  The  other  method  hardly  comes  within  the 
problem  of  a  book  on  color,  though  it  may  be  men- 
tioned in  passing  as  worth  consideration.  It  is 
to  find  the  way  of  health  and  to  secure  a  natural 
cleanliness  and  vitality  of  complexion. 

The  purer  the  complexion  and  the  richer  the  col- 
oring the  more  positive  may  be  the  contrasts  in- 
dulged in  and  the  purer  may  be  the  hues.  One 
exception  to  this,  however,  is  in  the  over  ruddy, 
particularly  when  the  complexion  is  somewhat 
rough  of  texture.  In  these  cases  the  use-  of  black 
or  of  complementaries  is  poor  because  simultane- 
ous contrast  may  tend  to  make  the  face  seem 
flushed  or  even  coarse  in  its  fullness  of  coloring. 
Such  persons  as  a  rule  look  best  in  analogous  har- 
monies such  as  orange  browns,  and  other  related 
colors  with  touches  of  pure  red,  pure  yellow  or 
pure  orange,  for  these  will  tend  to  soften  the 
radiance  of  the  face  while  preserving  the  appear- 
ance of  general  vitality.  If  pure  colors  are  used, 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  93 

rough  textures,  coarse  in  weave  are  desirable  be- 
cause the  broken  texture  will  tend  to  reduce  the 
intensity  of  the  colors  creating  a  vibrating  middle 
intensity  and  value.  Incidentally,  too,  the  rough 
textures  make  the  complexion  seem  finer. 

Softening  the  Features.  The  collar,  in  its  ex- 
act  quality  as  color  and  in  its  shape  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  relation  to  the  features.  A  design 
which  frames  the  face  in  a  severely  contrasting 
color  accentuates  the  edges. 

In  the  case  of  the  sharp  featured  who  do  not 
wish  to  make  the  most  of  their  strength  and  char- 
acter of  expression  it  would  be  advisable  to  have 
very  little  contrast  at  the  neck,  using  a  collar 
which  in  its  soft  and  blending  hues  makes  the 
most  of  the  face  as  color.  Such  a  collar  will 
soften  the  lines  of  the  face.  To  demonstrate  this 
principle  place  a  yellow  square  on  a  light  gray 
background  and  then  place  it  on  a  dark  blue  or 
black  or  gray.  The  edges  of  the  yellow  square  be- 
come sharply  defined  when  the  value  contrast  is 
strong;  and  the  yellow  becomes  a  detached  and 
strongly  insistent  note.  In  the  same  manner  a 
face  which  is  framed  severely  becomes  the  more 
completely  detached  and  is  subjected  to  a  closer 
criticism  of  its  features, 

Intensity  of  Colors  in  Dress.  Broadly  speak- 
ing intense  colors,  particularly,  intense  advancing 
high  value  colors,  like  yellows,  oranges  and  reds, 
should  be  used  only  for  trimmings  and  accessories, 
while  the  same  colors  grayed,  or  the  receding  col- 


94  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ors  pure  or  grayed  and  of  low  value  should  be  used 
for  the  large  background  masses  jof  the  dress 
goods  itself.  But  in  practice  fairly  pure  yellows, 
oranges,  reds,  intense  blues  and  greens  may  be 
worn  by  the  vivacious  types  if  slender  of  figure, 
provided  only  that  the  texture  is  such  that  the 
color  is  broken  up  by  its  folds,  by  its  transparence, 
or  by  its  own  roughness  of  weave. 

Where  the  dress  goods  is  grayed  and  subdued, 
the  use  of  bright  spotting  must  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. In  such  a  case  bright  spotting  in  hosiery 
or  footwear  creates  a  foolish  rivalry  between  feet 
and  head.  The  character  of  the  feet  like  the  char- 
acter of  the  face  has  a  bearing  in  the  local  color 
scheme.  It  is  obviously  a  mistake  to  use  colors 
in  shoes  or  hosiery  which  focus  attention  upon  a 
foot  which  is  large  or  upon  an  ankle  which  is  heavy. 

Eecently  the  author  observed  a  woman  whose 
figure  was  especially  disproportionate  below  the 
hips.  Her  walk  was  ungainly.  The  coat  she 
wore  had  a  broad  band  of  orange  and  red  em- 
broidery as  a  border  near  its  lower  edge.  This 
attracted  the  eye  to  just  the  very  defect  in  her 
figure  which  the  designer  might  well  have  sought 
to  keep  inconspicuous. 

Value  in  Dress  Color.  /The  relation  between 
value  and  the  character  of  features  has  already 
been  considered.  A  dark  edging  at  the  neek 
makes  too  severe  a  frame  for  a  sombre  olive 
skinned  brunette  or  for  a  sharp  featured  blonde. 
White  when  soft  of  texture  takes  on  grays  anS 


COLOR  IN  DEESS  95 

has  the  effect  before  mentioned  of  setting  off  the 
delicacy  of  the  flesh  tones.  White,  or  preferably 
high  values  of  any  of  the  hues  complementary  to 
the  complexion,  are  useful  in  collars,  particularly 
when  the  features  are  sharp,  for  they  soften  the 
lines  and  bring  out  the  delicate  notes  in  the  com- 
plexion. 

Value  is,  like  purity  of  color,  one  of  the  prime 
sources  of  contrast,  and  therefore  the  spotting  of 
the  light  notes  on  a  dark  tone,  or  of  dark  notes  on 
a  light  tone,  must  be  carefully  considered.  For 
value  contrasts  tend  to  make  the  smaller  contrast- 
ing notes  jump,  and  jumpy  spotting  creates  a 
rivalry  for  the  head  to  contend  with. 

Rhythm  in  Dress  Color.  Color  Composition. 
Although  it  was  previously  advised  in  this  study 
of  color  in  dress  that  the  general  chapters  on  color 
composition  be  considered,  a  few  additional  con- 
siderations on  the  special  applications  of  those 
principles  to  color  in  dress  may  be  in  place  at  this 
point. 

*  The  relation  between  color  harmony  and  or- 
derly arrangement  can  be  illustrated  in  the  adap- 
tation of  a  color  scheme  to  a  figure.  All  that  was 
said  about  white  and  black,  cool  and  warm,  in  their 
influence  on  the  appearance  of  stoutness  or  slim- 
ness  would  be  incomplete  without  considering  the 
type  of  pattern  or  color  arrangement  best  suited 
to  each  type. 

Under  rhythm  of  color  it  was  seen  that  strip- 
ing, checking  and  plaiding  were  types  of  repetition 


96  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

in  color  arrangement.  The  repetition  of  horizon- 
tal panels  or  stripes  tends  to  reduce  height.  The 
repetition  of  vertical  panels  or  stripes  tends  to 
increase  height. 

It  would  follow  that  not  only  does  this  principle 
apply  in  the  choice  of  patterned  dress  goods,  but 
also  in  the  treatment  of  collars,  sashes,  borders 
and  panels  in  solid  colored  goods.  For  the  short 
person,  wishing  to  increase  height,  particularly  if 
inclined  to  stoutness,  the  horizontal  lines  are  not 
desirable.  In  such  cases  it  is  best  to  design  the 
collar  so  that  its  lines,  like  the  lines  of  the  whole 
dress,  pull  downwards.  Useful  also,  on  the  short 
and  stout,  is  a  long  paneling  at  the  sides  from  the 
hip  down,  with  little  contrast  in  value. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  tall  slim  person  who 
wishes  to  reduce  her  apparent  height  can  avoid 
vertical  striping  in  panels,  and  can  use  instead 
belts,  border  bands,  horizontal  paneling,  and  hori- 
zontal draping  to  reduce  the  height  and  increase 
the  widths  Besides  the  related  movement  of  col- 
ors in  striping,  paneling  or  draping  there  is  the 
less  obvious  rhythm  or  related  movement  of  color 
gradation./  For  example  if  orange  is  used  as  a 
color  climax  in  the  decoration  in  a  string  of  beads, 
unless  there  is  a  deliberate  purpose  in  making  it 
the  one  contrasting  note  in  an  extremely  re- 
strained scheme,  this  orange  might  be  repeated  in 
duller  tones  in  other  accessory  details  like  cuffs  or 
border  bands. 
/The  color  of  the  hat  should  as  a  rule  not'be  a 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  97 

single  detached  spot  but  should  be  brought  into 
unity  with  the  waist  or  dress  through  a  repetition 
of  exactly  the  same  note  or  a  related  one.  It  is 
useful  in  this  case  to  carry  some  of  the  coloring 
of  the  dress  into  the  trimming  of  the  hat.  This 
type  of  less  obvious  rhythm  or  color  movement 
through  steps  of  increasing  purity  or  value  to  a 
climax  of  the  particular  hue  constitutes  what 
might  be  called  an  increasing  measure  rhythm  and 
corresponds  in  a  way  to  the  sense  of  motion  in  an 
ascending  run  in  music. 

Balance  in  Dress  Colors.  Symmetry  in  color  is 
dictated  by  the  structure  of  the  body  but  informal 
balance  in  the  placing  of  accents  is  subtle  in  effect 
and  can  help  make  an  indifferent  scheme  or  mar 
a  good  one,/ '  Top  heaviness  can  result  from  a  hat 
or  collar  which  out-balances  the  rest  in  value, 
warmth  or  intensity;  on  the  other  hand,  too 
strongly  contrasting  a  border,  hose  or  shoe  may 
out-balance  the  upper  mass. 

It  is  always  safer  for  the  sake  of  color  balance 
in  a  large  contrasting  area  to  have  just  a  limited 
contrast  of  either  value,  hue  or  intensity.  As  the 
area  grows  smaller  the  degree  of  the  contrast  may 
increase  and  the  contrast  may  involve  two  or  more 
color  principles  simultaneously./ To  make  this 
clearer  the  following  propositions  are  given.  A 
broad  area  of  ornament  or  trimming  permits 
only — (a)  moderate  contrast  if  in  value  only, 
hue  and  intensity  the  same  as  dress;  (b)  mod- 
erate contrast  if  in  intensity  only,  value  and 


\ 


98  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

hue  the  same  as  dress;  (c)  a  weaker  contrast  if  in 
both  value  and  hue;  (d)  a  weaker  contrast  if  in 
both  value  and  intensity;  (e)  a  weaker  contrast  if 
in  both  hue  and  intensity;  (f)  weakest  contrast  if 
in  all  three. 

The  Color  Chord.  It  is  not  enough  that  colors 
be  chosen  which  enhance  the  face  by  analogy  or 
contrast.  Within  the  dominant  blue,  green,  or 
orange,  there  will  have  to  be  notes  of  decoration 
and  trimming,  border  bands,  jewelry,  collars, 
sashes,  over-draping,  paneling.  Even  hosiery, 
shoes,  purse,  bag  and  parasol  are  all  notes  in  the 
complete  scheme.  It  might  happen  that  in  a  given 
scheme  all  these  would  be  of  one  hue,  value  and 
intensity.  But  if  they  are  to  be  of  f  arying  hues, 
values  or  intensities,  what  are  the  principles  to 
guide  the  dress  designer  in  assembling  these 
colors ! 

The  fundamental  one  is  that  a  dominant  idea 
be  present,  a  scheme  which  shall  in  the  main  be 
either  contrasting  or  analogous  with  the  coloring 
of  the  face./  But  within  either  of  these  arrange- 
ments, in  selecting  the  colors  with  which  the  artist 
will  create  the  ensemble,  the  aim  should  be  very 
much  like  the  aim  of  the  pianist  in  composing 
chords;  not  a  random  group  of  five  or  six  sepa- 
rately agreeable  notes  but  a  selected  union  of  five 
or  six  notes  which  played  together  make  sweet 
music,  fusing  and  blending  agreeably,  and  merging 
their  differences  in  a  unified  ensemble.  A  number 
of  typical  schemes  follow. 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  99 

Possible  Schemes.  A  one  color  scheme  may  be 
made  very  interesting  even  if  all  in  one  value  and 
one  intensity,  through  contrasts  in  texture. 

A  scheme  of  self -tones  is  the  next  in  simplicity, 
involving  leasf;  chance  of  error  and  yet  permitting 
of  considerable  interest  in  the  variety  of  values, 
intensities  and  textures.  This  may  also  have  the 
interest  of  gradation  or  of  striping,  checking  or 
vibrating  weave. 

A  two  color  scheme  with  self -tones  of  the  one 
color  and  a  single  contrasting  color  is  the  next  in 
simplicity. 

A  two  color  scheme  with  self -tones  of  both  col- 
ors; one  kept  dominant,  the  other  subordinate  is 
the  next  in  order  of  contrasting  effect. 

A  three  color  scheme  with  one  dominant,  in  self- 
tones,  a  complementary  and  a  third  color  analo- 
gous to  the  principal  color  or  its  complementary 
comes  next. 

A  many-colored  scheme  with  one  dominant  and 
one  complementary,  used  with  neighboring  hues 
of  dominant,  neighboring  hues  of  secondary,  or 
of  both  comes  last. 

In  addition  among  possible  schemes  are  white, 
black,  white  and  black,  white  and  dark  gray,  black 
and  light  gray,  grays,  gray  and  one  color,  gray 
and  two  colors,  gray  and  three  or  more  colors, 
white  and  one  color,  black  and  one  color. 

Dominance  in  the  Chord.  A  dress  scheme 
should  like  any  color  scheme  be  conceived  with 
some  dominant  idea.  For  example  a  black- 


100  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

haired  young  woman  might  plan  her  dress  as  a 
harmony,  dominantly  orange  with  blue  trimming. 
Analysis  of  one  such  scheme  revealed  the  follow- 
ing:* 

Dominant  Color.  Subordinate  Color. 

Orange   in  dress  goods    -I!  Mue  ^  ^^ 

"        '    ^  ?  (t-)  -    -    en*.  !* 

13 

«    hat  V«  Vs 

-U**  "     "     beads  — 

I* 

Vs 

"    "     hat-band        — 

12 

V* 

"    "    hose 

Second  Subordinate  Color 

Gray  in  base-border       V» 

"      "   hat-brim          V5 

In  the  foregoing  the  dress  goods,  a  dull  gold  of 
ribbed  silk  gave  interesting  gradations  of  yellow 
orange,  red  and  even  grayed  blue  glints  in  the  play 
of  light  and  shade.  The  collars  and  cuffs  and  hat- 
band were  of  a  somewhat  shrill  blue,  shiny  of  sur- 
face. As  the  features  of  the  wearer  were  some- 
what sharp  this  blue  collar  was  not  brought  clear 
around  the  neck.  Instead  the  soft  roll  of  the 
dress  goods  itself  created  a  less  contrasting  edge 
in  front.  This  soft  roll  was  more  favorable  to 

*  V  =  Value.     I  =  Intensity. 
**  A  dark  grayed  brown. 


COLOR  IN  DRESS  101 

the  features.  A  long  string  of  blue  beads  made 
an  interesting  contrast  across  the  dress  and  helped 
as  an  extra  border  line  to  frame  the  head,  combin- 
ing as  it  did  with  the  blue  of  the  collar  and  the 
hat-band  to  create  around  the  face  a  radiating 
spotting  of  blues  to  contrast  with  the  grayed 
orange  of  hat  and  dress.  The  gray  fur  in  the 
trimming  of  the  hat-brim,  and  the  border  at  the 
base  of  the  dress  introduced  a  further  contrast — 
the  contrast  of  texture. 

Textures  in  a  Color  Chord.  The  value  of  tex- 
ture contrasts  in  making  for  interest  in  such  a 
scheme  as  the  foregoing  can  hardly  be  overesti- 
mated. The  furry  gray  in  the  first  place  has  a 
quality  of  soft  depth  about  it  which  contrasts  ef- 
fectively with  the  lustre  of  the  ribbed  silk.  Fur 
moreover  is  free  from  edginess  and  for  that  rea- 
son proved  useful  in  the  base  border,  where  edgi- 
ness would  be  a  falsely  insistent  note.  The  heavy 
beads,  a  greenish  blue  of  dull  surface,  made  a  good 
contrast  with  the  broad  smooth  sheen  of  the  blue 
collar  and  cuffs,  and  with  the  lustre  of  the  dulled 
orange  dress  goods. 

Men's  Clothes.  In  the  men's  clothes  of  the  last 
few  decades,  there  was  little  thought  given  to  such 
vanities  as  color  rhythm,  balance  or  proportion, 
Within  the  last  few  years  a  complete  change  has 
come  over  the  industry.  To-day  rhythm  of  line 
in  lapels,  waist  and  hip ;  proportion  in  lapel  cuffs, 
pockets  and  the  length  of  coats,  are  increasingly 
in  evidence,  and  textures,  colors  and  patterns  show 


102  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

a  much  greater  variety.  There  was  a  time  when 
in  the  ready-made  suit  a  few  staple  blues,  browns, 
blacks  and  a  larger  variety  of  grays,  cut  in  youths, 
mediums  and  stouts,  comprised  the  range  of  selec- 
tion. To-day  not  only  do  the  colors  show  a 
greater  range  but  the  designer  recognizes  a  larger 
variety  of  figures,  each  of  which  must  have  lines 
and  proportions  to  match. 

In  the  course  of  the  remarks  on  dress,  men  will 
find  points  here  and  there  which  they  may  be  able 
to  apply  within  decided  limits  in  their  suits,  and 
within  less  circumscribed  limits  in  their  shirts,  ties 
and  hats. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
COLOR  IN  THE  HOME 

Every  Home  a  Confession  of  Taste.  Every 
person  can  approach  the  task  of  home  planning  in 
the  same  spirit  as  the  artist  approaches  his  can- 
vas. Whether  the  home  looks  like  a  slipshod  work 
or  like  a  masterpiece  depends  upon  the  taste  of 
those  who  assemble  it.  If  people  felt  that  their 
taste  and  personality  were  as  much  under  observa- 
tion in  their  homes  as  in  their  dress  they  might 
grant  to  the  home  a  larger  measure  of  thought, 
and  might  insist  on  an  educational  curriculum 
which  would  enable  them  to  approach  its  prob- 
lems with  increased  knowledge.  As  it  is,  most 
young  couples,  upon  marrying,  "go  out  and  select 
the  furnishings  with  which  they  will  live  for  years, 
with  very  little  basis  for  critical  judgment. 

The  beautiful  home  bears  the  stamp  of  its  occu- 
pants more  unmistakably  by  far  than  dress.  The 
habit  of  conformity,  the  lack  of  originality  and  of 
experiment  and  joy  in  home-planning,  reveal  them- 
selves through  too  many  of  the  homes  of  America, 
where  one  knows  in  advance  in  any  given  class  of 
the  community,  the  general  scheme  and  even  the 
accessories.  In  the  very  pictures  on  the  walls  of 
a  great  many  of  the  homes  there  is  the  tendency 

103 


104  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

to  select  the  very  same  subjects  which  neighbors 
have  previously  selected. 

This  is  the  more  regrettable  since  a  home  fur- 
nishes the  most  ample  opportunities  for  self-ex- 
pression, and  home-planning  can  therefore  become 
a  particularly  interesting  form  of  activity.  Much 
of  one's  love  of  life  and  nature,  one's  observations 
of  art  and  the  outdoors,  one's  joy  in  comradeship 
and  children  can  find  expression  in  the  furnishing 
and  coloring  of  the  home. 

The  Home  as  a  Social  Force.  A  beautiful  home 
is  moreover  a  social  force  in  the  community,  a 
silent  but  effective  influence  pointing  the  way  for 
others.  ,  In  the  writer's  observation  of  a  number 
of  settlement  houses,  one  of  the  most  effective  re- 
sults was  accomplished  without  a  word.  Their 
clean,  pleasantly  furnished,  agreeably  decorated 
rooms,  played  a  large  part  in  attracting  the  boys 
and  girls  to  the  settlement  houses,  and  moreover 
influenced  those  youngsters  when  they  grew  up, 
and  set  out  to  build  their  own  homes.  Any  woman 
can  thus  affect  her  immediate  social  environment 
by  the  thought  she  gives  to  her  home,  and  this 
without  a  single  word  of  propaganda.  But  over 
and  above  all,  the  home  beautiful  justifies  the  ef- 
fort and  outlay  of  love  and  thought  which  it  re- 
quires, both  as  the  habitation  of  those  who  are 
dear  to  us,  and  as  a  setting  for  our  own  most  inti- 
mate hours  and  moods. 

The  Home  and  the  Character  of  a  Period.  The 
home  has  always  been  an  intimate  expression  of 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  105 

the  life  of  a  people,  as  conformable  to  their  char- 
acter as  a  bird's  nest  is  to  its  habits.  But  in  these 
days  of  big  cities,  flat  dwelling  and  wholesale  man- 
ufacturing, the  home  is  tending  to  become  a  stand- 
ardized product,  manufactured  for  the  population 
of  the  country  in  lots  of  a  hundred  thousand. 
What  we  are  gaining  in  comforts  and  sanitation 
we  are  losing  in  picturesqueness  and  personality. 
An  age  distinguished  by  the  greatest  material  tri- 
umphs known  to  history,  the  most  wonderful  ex- 
ploitation of  nature,  the  emancipation  of  man  and 
woman  from  aristocratic  and  autocratic  domina- 
tion, an  age  which  has  brought  within  the  reach  of 
almost  all,  the  prints  of  Japan,  the  silks  -of  China, 
the  rugs  of  Persia,  the  pigment  dyes  of  modern 
chemistry,  has  failed  to  develop  a  home  which  has 
any  warmth  or  character  of  its  own. 

The  Dutch  burgher,  the  American  colonial,  the 
French  aristocrat,  the  English  country  gentleman, 
^ach  is  reflected  in  the  settings  in  which  -he  lived. 
If  democracy  is  to  create  a  type  of  home  warm, 
intimate  and  personal,  a  suitable  setting  for  the 
men  and  women  who  enjoy  suffrage  and  are  free 
individuals  in  a  free  land,  its  citizens  must  learn  to 
approach  the  home  as  artists.  They  must  seek  to 
keep  it  free  from  all  that  is  tawdry,  stereotyped, 
cheaply  commercial,  and  coldly  mechanical  in  mod- 
ern life.  There  is  much  that  is  beautiful  in  the 
world  in  which  we  live  that  should  and  can  be  re- 
flected in  the  home.  Color  can  be  made  a  valuable 
asset  in  making  the  home  a  more  beautiful  em- 


106  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

bodiment  of  all  that  is  best  in  the  modern  spirit. 

Fads  in  Home  Decoration.  The  "Ultra  Mod- 
ern" Home.  Though  there  is  to-day  a  decidedly 
marked  color  impulse  in  the  field  of  interior  deco- 
ration and  though  throughout  the  land  men  and 
women  are  taking  a  new  interest  in  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  home  beautiful,  this  tendency  like  so 
many  modern  tendencies  is  given  over  to  experts 
for  guidance.  The  interior  decorator  who  is  truly 
an  artist  is  well  worth  employing  if  one  has  the 
means.  But  a  whole  tribe  of  decorators  has 
sprung  up  suddenly  like  mushrooms  to  meet  the 
demand  which  the  Post  Impressionist,  the  Russian 
Ballet,  the  modern  stage  decorator  and  the  art 
educators  have  helped  to  create.  Among  these 
there  are  undoubtedly  some  men  and  women  of 
taste,  knowledge  and  experience,  but  unfortu- 
nately there  are  also  many  untrained  and  un- 
qualified ones  who  are  attracted  to  decoration  be- 
cause it  offers  them  a  professional  opening  which 
they  feel  is  dignified.  This  type  of  decorator 
thrives  only  because  in  the  general  ignorance  of 
many  ambitious  home  builders,  any  one  who  re- 
lieves them  of  the  task  of  choosing  is  as  welcome 
as  is  the  linguist  in  the  dinner  party  who  orders 
confidently  in  the  ornate  a  la  carte  establishment 
in  which  the  bill  of  fare  is  printed  in  French. 

The  result  of  entrusting  the  home  entirely  to 
this  type  of  interior  decorator  who  merely  follows 
a  vogue  which  he  does  not  quite  understand  often 
leads  to  the  grossest  incongruity  between  the  peo- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  107 

pie  in  the  home  and  their  surroundings.  A  retir- 
ing modest  little  woman  married  to  a  common 
sense  practical  rising  lawyer  of  substantial  in- 
come is  given  an  ultra  modern  theatrical  stage 
setting,  bright  orange  walls,  the  upholstery  of  the 
furniture  in  peacock  blues  and  blue  greens,  with 
parrots  in  screaming  yellow  for  ornaments. 
' l  What  do  you  think  of  it  ? "  the  vague  little  woman 
asks  her  visitors  with  that  half  smile  which  be- 
tokens a  doubt  she  has  not  the  courage  to  express. 

Subordination  of  Room  to  People.  Just  as  the 
dress  should  be  subordinate  to  the  face  so  the 
color  in  a  home  should  be  subordinate  to  its  occu- 
pants. The  home  should  be  a  frame,  a  setting 
for  the  people  who  dwell  in  it.  The  frame  should 
never  outweigh  the  picture.  Not  only  was  the 
brilliant  room  just  described  incongruous  as  a 
background  for  the  wife  and  husband,  but  it  was 
also  a  very  poor  background  for  their  guests. 
How  many  faces  can  hope  to  compete  with  the 
warm  glow,  the  advancing  colors  and  strong  daz- 
zling contrasts  in  such  a  room  setting?  Hospi- 
tality dictates  that  the  guests  be  permitted  to  feel 
that  they  and  their  gowns  are  set  off  rather  than 
destroyed  by  the  room  in  which  they  are  to  meet 
one  another. 

The  Search  for  Color  Chords.  The  first  and 
one  of  the  most  pleasant  tasks  of  the  home  planner 
is  that  of  observaton.  The  homes  of  friends,  the 
exhibitions  of  home  decoration  at  department 
stores  and  galleries,  the  paintings,  textiles  both 


108  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Oriental  as  well  as  Occidental,  pottery  by  the  great 
colorists,  even  the  colors  of  fall  leaves,  of  sea- 
shells,  and  of  butterfly-wings,  all  become  sources 
of  inspiration  for  a  color  chord  or  a  color  ar- 
rangement. For  here  as  in  dress  it  is  the  color 
chord  which  should  furnish  the  key  to  the  whole 
scheme.  The  personality  of  the  designer  will  re- 
veal itself  in  the  quality,  the  distinction  and  the 
fitness  of  that  chord  and  in  the  disposition  of  its 
separate  notes. 

Here  also  as  in  dress  the  range  of  chords  is 
quite  large;  grays  alone,  self-tones  of  one  color, 
grays  and  one  other  color,  black  and  one  other 
color,  grays  and  two  other  colors,  black  and  two 
other  colors,  three  or  more  colors  with  or  without 
gray  or  blacks;  these  suggest  the  range  of  pos- 
sibilities. In  the  chapters  on  contrasting  and 
analogous  schemes,  many  possible  color  chords  are 
suggested  and  the  main  points  there  stated  apply 
to  room  decoration  as  they  do  to  all  color  design- 
ing. 

Chapters  II,  III  and  IV  should  be  read  and 
reread  before  committing  one's  self  to  a  scheme 
of  decoration.  The  experiments  with  the  colored 
slips  which  were  suggested  in  those  chapters  will 
aid  to  a  fuller  realization  of  color  as  an  active 
force.  This  chapter  will  not  pretend  to  be  ex- 
haustive but,  as  in  the  rest  of  the  book,  will  aim  at 
suggestiveness  and  stimulation  of  interest  rather 
than  at  finality  of  judgment.  As  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  book  to  keep  close  to  the  needs  of  daily  life, 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  109 

its  assumptions  will  be  democratic  and  the  apart- 
ment or  small  house  of  a  person  of  fairly  moder- 
ate means  will  be  the  home  in  mind  although  most 
of  the  color  ideas  discussed  will  apply  equally  to 
the  still  simpler  as  well  as  to  the  more  sumptuous 
home. 

Adaptation  of  Color  Scheme  to  Use  of  Room. 
Every  room  has  some  function,  which  suggests 
given  ideas  and  associations  to  the  mind.  Colors 
may  suggest  emotions  or  associations  in  harmony 
with  the  function  of  the  room.  The  color  in  a 
library  may  suggest  study  and  quiet,  in  a  music 
room  fantasy  and  the  life  of  the  imagination,  in  a 
dining-room  good  cheer  and  hospitality,  in  a 
boudoir  dainty  elegance,  in  a  sleeping-room  re- 
pose. Spick  and  span  might  well  be  the  dominat- 
ing note  of  the  kitchen. 

Is  color  capable  of  responding  to  these  various 
ideas  ?  We  have  seen  that  colors  may  be  warm  or 
cold,  advancing  or  receding,  but  can  they  be  so 
chosen  as  to  suggest  comfort,  cleanliness,  good 
cheer,  elegance?  Of  course  it  will  be  understood 
that  any  suggestions  which  follow  are  merely  per- 
sonal suggestions,  and  that  the  true  spirit  in  which 
to  approach  the  problem  is  one  of  experiment, 
with  the  leading  principles  as  the  only  restraints 
upon  imagination. 

Color  in  the  Kitchen.  Let  us  begin  with  the 
kitchen.  Everything  is  spick  and  span.  But  that 
is  not  enough.  The  proud  housewife  would  wish 
everything  to  look  spick  and  span.  Certain  colors- 


110  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

,and  certain  textures  may  be  spotless  and  dustless, 
and  yet  the  kitchen  may  miss  that  shiny  bright- 
ness which  is  desired.  Dark  colors  and  rough 
textures,  no  matter  how  clean,  may  tend  to  hurt 
the  effect.  The  colors  must  be  light,  they  must  be 
bright,  they  must  be  shiny  or  polished  of  surface. 
Oil  cloths,  linoleums,  tiles,  a  metal-lustred  stove, 
white  or  enamelled  woodwork,  a  very  light  scrim 
curtain,  a  sprig  of  laurel  or  some  other  green  upon 
the  window  sill,  will  help  the  general  effect  of 
bright  shining  cleanliness. 

If  by  any  chance  the  room  is  poorly  lighted  to 
begin  with,  the  use  of  white  enamelled,  or  white 
tiled  areas  becomes  all  the  more  important.  In  a 
given  case  a  dark  kitchenette  positively  repugnant 
in  its  depths  of  shadow  was  transformed  by  the 
use  of  some  white  enamelled  sheet  iron.  The  light 
which  reached  into  that  kitchenette  was  reflected 
and  re-reflected  from  surface  to  surface  until  it 
seemed  a  positively  bright  and  cheerful  spot. 
The  change  meant  an  outlay  of  a  few  dollars,  and 
would  have  cost  still  less  if  oil  cloth  had  been 
used,  but  there  was  a  satisfaction  in  the  use  of 
the  kitchenette  from  that  day  on  which  was  worth 
many  times  more  than  it  cost. 

With  the  many  bright  and  shiny  things  a  kitchen 
holds,  there  is  room  for  a  contrasting  note  of  rela- 
tive darkness  to  soften  the  effect.  Spots  of  blue 
as  exemplified  in  the  famous  blue  and  white  china, 
afford  an  effective  relief,  on  the  one  hand  height- 
ening the  brilliance  of  the  white  yellow  or  silver, 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  111 

on  the  other  introducing  a  needed  balance  of  dark 
and  cool  notes.  Blue,  green,  shiny  black  or  any 
pure,  clean-looking  color  will  serve  for  this  con- 
trast but  must  never  occur  in  too  large  a  solid 
area.  Whatever  the  scheme  may  be,  whether  blue 
and  white,  black  and  cream,  green  and  white,  or 
green  and  cream,  the  scheme  had  best  be  kept  sim- 
ple and  obvious ;  for  if  in  addition  to  sparkle  and 
shine  the  colors  are  many  and  varied,  the  effect 
will  be  disordered.  Blue,  green  or  black  on  the 
dark  side  are  preferable  to  browns  or  ochres  be- 
cause a  cool  contrast  is  called  for  by  the  large 
areas  of  warm  light  tones. 

A  personal  note,  the  sense  of  difference  and 
novelty  of  effect  which  is  at  all  times  worth  striv- 
ing for  may  come  also  from  the  choice  of  an  odd 
note  in  the  third  color,  in  the  window  hanging,  or 
elsewhere  in  a  large  mass;  yellow-orange  with 
blue  and  white ;  yellow-green  with  black  and  cream, 
or  some  similar  combination,  ideas  for  which  may 
be  obtained  from  butterflies  or  flowers. 

When  one  considers  the  part  played  by  the 
pleasures  of  the  table  in  the  scheme  of  life,  one 
can  well  understand  the  enthusiasm  of  the  host  in 
one  of  the  old  country  inns  in  France  who  ar- 
ranged his  place  so  that  his  guests  entered  the 
dining-room  by  way  of  a  kitehen  all  aglow  and 
sparkling  with  its  ruddy  copper-kettles,  clean 
enamelled  walls,  crisp  sparkling  china,  and  glisten- 
ing silver.  The  manner  in  which  he  gloried  in  the 
color  mood  of  his  kitchen  could  well  be  emulated 


:::         COLOK  DC  EVERYDAY  LIFE 


br  the  hone  baflder  in  the  planning  of  every  part 
of  the  home. 

im  Ae  Dhnm§  nt&mL.  If  following  the 
of  the  experimental  psychologist  the 
timjtmgjniqm*  were  sotmutted  among  otiier 
to  a  hundred  people  for  tfeeir 
resftcttMBs,  it  would  he  found  in  all  fikefihood 
although  the  exact  method  of  expression  differed, 
the  association  most  neatly  e**nn*vn  to  the  hun- 
offtil.  wwld  be  good,  cheer.  r  or  thon^ii  utera- 
tare  t»4ajr  In  lost  the  habit  of  lengthy 
trans  of  1k  joys  of  the  table  and  bounteous 

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COLOR  IX  THE  HOME  11: 

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114  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ing  is  done  by  the  table  lamp.  If  for  the  sake  of 
restfulness  the  color  scheme  runs  to  the  grayed 
or  less  intense  tones,  the  books  might  well  be  used 
to  create  a  rich  mosaic  of  color  around  the  walls. 
Against  a  simple  paneled  wall  in  subdued  reced- 
ing colors  the  effect  of  massed  books  will  resemble 
a  rich  tapestry  or  rug.  The  books  can  be  kept 
the  richest  note  in  the  scheme  by  an  extreme  sim- 
plicity and  absence  of  design  spotting  in  walls, 
hangings,  floor  and  table  covers.  An  occasional 
bronze  upon  the  top  of  the  cases,  or  a  vase  with  a 
spray  of  flowers  will  furnish  contrasting  notes  of 
classic  scholarly  decoration  or  gayer  natural  deco- 
ration which  will  add  interest. 

Color  in  the  Nursery.  Children,  like  savages, 
love  strong  colors.  The  Puritanic  character  of 
our  education  tends  to  make  people  feel  that  the 
color  sense  of  children  should  be  refined  away 
from  that  of  savages  to  the  grays  and  color 
anaemia  of  civilized  life.  But  the  child's  love  of 
colors  will  hurt  neither  its  eyes  nor  its  taste. 
Moreover  ^f  the  love  for  color  is  to  be  conserved 
into  adult  years  the  child  should  be  permitted  to 
indulge  its  natural  fondness  for  strong  colors. 

The  parent  should  by  all  means  feed  the  child's 
love  of  color.  Colored  balloons,  bowls  of  glowing 
fruit,  kites  of  varied  hue,  gleaming  goldfish,  will 
fascinate  the  youngster.  Its  nursery  accordingly 
should  also  feed  this  craving  for  pure  color ;  cop- 
per-red, orange,  pure  blue,  blue  green,  yellow  and 
rich  purple,  not  in  large  masses  which  might  irri- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  115 

tate  and  over-stimulate,  but  as  almost  always 
when  pure  colors  are  to  be  used,  small  areas  of 
intense  colors  against  larger  areas  of  grayed  dull 
hues.  The  very  chairs  and  table,  the  rocking- 
horses  and  other  toys  might  all  be  colored  in  the 
same  spirit,  being  painted  to  harmonize  with  the 
floor  and  walls  and  hangings. 

Color  in  the  Sleeping-room.  A  millionaire  art 
dealer  whose  fortune  was  accumulated  as  a  pur- 
veyor of  art  objects  to  the  wealthiest  families  of 
America  is  credited  with  the  following  tribute  to 
the  emotional  value  of  color.  Turning  to  one  of 
his  buyers  he  told  him  to  go  out  and  select  for 
his  bedroom  the  ugliest  wall  paper,  with  the  most 
horrible  colors  the  buyer  could  find.  The  buyer, 
quite  amazed,  laughed,  but  failed  to  see  the  point. 
"I'm  not  joking,  I  mean  it, V  insisted  the  dealer. 
"But  really,  Mr.  X.,  you  would  not  have  your  own 
room  in  bad  tastQ."  .  "1  told  you  my  wishes, " 
Mr.  X.  responded.  "I  want  a  paper  so  bad  in 
color,  that  when  I  open  my  eyes,  I  shall  have  to  get 
out  of  the  room.  I  don't  make  money  lying  in 
bed." 

But  as  most  of  us  rather  enjoy  our  sleep  and 
like  to  retire  and  wake  in  a  room  which  will  look 
restful  and  clean  at  bedtime  and  cheerful  and  stim- 
ulating in  the  morning,  our  choice  of  color  scheme 
should  have  a  different  basis.  Light  grays  with  a 
touch  of  warmth  either  in  the  gray,  in  the  pattern 
or  in  the  hangings,  furnish  such  a  combination 
of  restful  cleanliness  and  stimulating  warmth. 


116  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Cool  blue  gray,  with  gold  or  shell  pink,  cool  green 
gray  with  pale  lavender  and  black,  ivory  with  gold 
and  green;  these  are  a  few  suggestions.  Much 
would  of  course  depend  upon  the  values,  the  in- 
tensity and  the  arrangement  in  every  such  sug- 
gested chord. 

Color  in  the  Music-room.  This  quite  naturally 
furnishes  one  of  the  best  opportunities  for  fan- 
tasy and  exoticism  of  color.  For  though  many 
may  quite  reasonably  object  to  bizarre  effects,  no 
matter  how  interesting,  when  these  are  planned 
for  the  dining-room,  kitchen  or  library,  there  can 
be  no  valid  objection  to  a  more  fanciful  color 
scheme  for  a  music-room. 

A  few  of  the  essential  limiting  conditions  are 
worth  remembering.  A  scheme  for  a  music-room 
should  not  over-stimulate,  and  distract  from  the 
music.  Some  people  would  rather  close  their  eyes 
than  listen  to  music  in  a  room  too  distracting  in  its 
interests.  It  might  therefore  be  safer  to  incline 
towards  a  richly  relieved  simplicity  than  towards 
an  absolutely  bizarre  variety. 

A  second  consideration  is  the  fact  that  a  music- 
room  is  likely  to  be  graced  by  women  in  formal 
dress.  The  conditions  of  a  ballroom,  or  a  recep- 
tion-room are  here  present  and  the  same  solution 
should  be  sought.  There  should  be  a  quality  of 
color  in  the  lighting  and  a  quality  of  color  in  the 
background  which  will  most  beautifully  enhance 
the  flesh  tones  and  gowns  of  the  women,  and  the 
blacks  of  the  men's  apparel. 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  117 

Flesh  tones,  evening  gowns  and  black,  lighted 
by  a  soft  warm  light,  are  quite  effective  against 
gray  green  velvet  of  a  value  above  middle. 
Where  the  room  is  not  small,  dull  ivory,  gold 
hangings  and  black  paneling  make  an  interesting 
scheme.  A  bizarre  effect  could  be  achieved  by  the 
use  of  black  for  walls,  gold  with  green  and  black 
for  hangings.  Reversing  the  colors  of  wall  and 
hangings  would  make  the  foregoing  less  bizarre. 

Most  people  would  prefer  the  quieter  schemes  in 
which  a  colored  gray  of  specially  odd  charm  is 
used  as  the  dominant  color,  and  a  spotting  of  yel- 
lows, oranges,  pinks,  violets  or  greens  in  the  ac- 
cessories would  furnish  the  light  pizzicatto  to  the 
broad  background  of  the  gray. 

Adaptation  to  Material.  Color  in  Furniture. 
When  the  subject  of  color  in  woodwork  comes  up 
all  that  most  people  think  of  are  the  different 
woods,  each  with  its  own  characteristic  stain  and 
color.  But  three  things  quite  different  may  be 
considered;  variety  in  staining,  upholstery  and 
painting. 

There  are  many  stains  possible  besides  the  tra- 
ditional conventional  ones  to  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed. In  other  words,  without  any  sacrifice  of 
its  natural  texture  or  quality,  even  mahogany 
might  be  finished  silver  gray,  or  oak  a  dull  black 
or  a  soft  green  gray.  Only  the  currency  of  given 
styles  and  time  worn  habits  make  manufacturers 
cling  to  the  few  accepted  tones  with  practically  no 
variety  or  desire  to  experiment.  Some  of  the 


118  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

more  novel  stains  are  being  used,  and  many  others 
would  come  in  if  only  buyers  brought  pressure  to 
bear  on  furniture  makers.  The  experimentally 
inclined  might  try  out  a  variety  of  the  stains 
which  are  on  the  market,  applying  these  to  differ- 
ent woods. 

The  use  of  leather  backs  and  seats  in  furniture 
affords  an  opportunity  for  square  and  oblong 
panels,  blues,  browns  and  greens,  which  in  given 
cases  may  be  the  clue  to  a  complete  scheme.  Cre- 
tonne coverings  also  offer  the  most  varied  possi- 
bilities of  color  choice.  Very  interesting  effects 
can  be  achieved  by  people  of  moderate  means, 
through  the  purchase  of  an  old  set  of  good  design 
in  the  framework,  which  is  then  completely  re- 
upholstered  to  match  the  room  scheme. 

But  one  other  way  remains  for  color  effects  in 
furniture ;  the  least  expensive  way,  painting. 

Economy  and  Harmony.  Painting  vs.  Tex- 
tures. People  are  frequently  attracted  by  a  given 
color  scheme  as  shown  in  the  window  of  a  deco- 
rator. They  memorize  the  color  scheme  and  re- 
mark how  well  the  colors  go  together,  but  closer 
observation  might  reveal  that  the  especial  charm 
of  the  combination  cannot  be  reproduced  without 
the  use  of  the  same  textures.  For  what  was  noted 
as  yellow  in  a  blue  and  yellow  scheme  may  have 
had  a  satin  finish  which  kept  its  whole  surface 
vibrating  with  bluish,  violet  and  soft  green  tones, 
which  created  the  pleasing  binding  note  between 
the  yellow  paper  and  the  dark  velour  hanging. 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME 

At  every  point  in  the  home  beautiful  well  re- 
lated textures  play  a  most  important  part  in  the 
appeal  of  the  ensemble.  The  graining  of  wood, 
the  veining  and  polish  of  marble,  the  depth  of 
lacquer,  the  silvery  tenacity  of  fine  lace,  the  lustre 
of  silk,  the  sparkle  of  silver,  the  glow  of  bronze, 
the  gay  high  lights  of  porcelain,  each  has  its  own 
appeal. 

But  the  more  exquisite  textures  except  in  the 
case  of  flowers  are  generally  quite  expensive. 
What  are  persons  of  limited  means  eager  for 
pleasing  and  rich  color  effects  to  do?  Their  walls 
can  be  beautifully  papered  inexpensively  enough. 
In  fact  wall  papers  present  the  richest  variety  of 
colors  and  textures  and  can  contribute  a  larger 
measure  of  distinction  to  a  room  for  less  outlay 
than  any  other  detail  in  furnishing.  But  what  is 
to  be  done  about  the  furniture,  the  scarfs,  the 
vases  and  the  window-boxes?  The  answer  is  to 
be  found  in  paint,  sealing  wax,  dyes  and  stains. 

Home  builders  of  moderate  means  should  learn 
to  apply  color  themselves.  Through  the  magic 
of  a  few  quarts  of  paint  and  some  turpentine,  the 
swift  brush  once  it  has  learnt  its  business  can 
transform  the  poorest  workbox,  the  cheapest  fur- 
niture, the  walls,  the  scarfs,  the  flower  pots  and 
window-boxes  into  so  many  attractively  colored 
units  in  a  completely  harmonized  whole.  What 
a  wealth  of  color  possibilities  is  now  opened,  from 
sombre  black  to  vivid  green,  from  ivory  gray  to 
intense  red,  from  bright  yellow  to  dull  blue  or 


120  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

green ;  the  whole  range  of  color  is  at  the  command 
of  the  brush  and  the  most  unaccustomed  effects 
can  be  planned.  Sealing  wax  can  also  be  used  to 
transform  the  simplest  china  and  glassware  into 
attractive  vases. 

Through  paint  applied  stencil-fashion,  inexpen- 
sive scarfs,  centerpieces,  curtains  and  portieres 
can  be  more  effectively  brought  into  the  scheme. 
The  reason  that  stencil  patterns  in  color  are  sug- 
gested for  these  accessories  where  the  texture  is 
not  very  interesting  in  quality,  is  one  which  has 
been  previously  stated  in  the  discussion  of  tex- 
tures, viz. :  that  the  poorer  the  texture,  the  more 
need  there  is  for  the  addition  of  interest  through 
color  contrasts. 

Harmony  in  Texture.  The  texture  of  the  vari- 
ous materials  is  an  important  element  in  the  pleas- 
ure of  an  interior  color  scheme.  This  statement 
refers  not  only  to  the  texture  of  the  individual 
surfaces  and  furnishings  considered  separately, 
but  also  to  the  harmony  which  they  may  create 
in  ensemble.  Constant  observation  of  textures 
will  reveal  that  the  contrast  of  textures  may  help 
or  mar  a  scheme.  An  oriental  rug  of  silken  sheen 
and  finish,  or  a  lustrous  hanging  may  deaden  the 
walls,  the  furnishings  and  the  ornament,  very 
much  as  a  lustrous  color  in  a  dress  might  deaden 
the  hair  and  eyes  and  skin  of  the  wearer.  The 
just  right  contrast  of  rough  and  smooth,  gloss 
and  dullness,  surface  shimmer  and  depth  may  be 
very  agreeable.  It  is  also  well  to  remember  that 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  121 

purer  colors  are  more  permissible  in  roughly  tex- 
tured weaves  than  in  smoothly  polished  weaves, 
for  the  former  are  self -graying. 

Color  in  Curtains.  The  uniformly  heavy  white 
lace  curtain  ordinarily  adds  little  to  the  color 
chord  of  a  room  interior  as  compared  with  a  filmy 
white  curtain,  touched  with  colors  in  the  domi- 
nant note  of  the  room,  or  a  yellow-orange  curtain, 
with  a  spotting  of  the  color  which  is  the  dominant 
note  of  the  room.  Over-curtains  control  the  light 
more  easily  than  do  shades.  As  the  curtains  are 
against  the  light  and  so  become  quite  important 
in  the  color  chord  the  color  of  curtain  and  over- 
hanging is  worth  the  most  careful  study,  and.  con- 
siderable novelty  of  effect  can  be  achieved^hrough 
just  this  one  element.  But  the  decorator  must  not 
forget  that  his  effect,  no  matter  how  well  it  looks 
as  a  daylight  scheme,  must  in  certain  rooms  not 
neglect  the  artificial  night  lighting. 

Color  in  Portieres.  Because  of  the  self -graying 
which  results  from  the  long  folds  in  which  por- 
tieres fall,  these  hangings  may  be  somewhat  purer 
in  hue  and  more  contrasting  in  pattern  than  wall 
surfaces.  In  one  type  of  treatment  the  hue  of 
the  portiere  is  complementary  to  that  of  the  wall 
while  its  pattern  is  analogous  to  it.  In  a  second 
type  the  hue  of  the  portiere  is  related  to  the  hue 
of  the  wall  while  the  pattern  is  complementary  to 
it. 

Border  Lines.  In  wall-paneling,  in  portieres, 
curtains,  floors  and  even  in  ceilings,  the  border 


122  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

band  even  if  only  a  line  border  is  a  very  useful 
and  engaging  note.  The  border  line  is  very  valu- 
able in  finishing  off  oblong  spaces,  making  them 
self-contained.  Like  paneling,  it  also  creates  a 
variety  in  space  relations  which  makes  for  inter- 
est. That  this  border  line  may  hurt  rather  than 
help  if  the  proportions  which  it  establishes  be- 
tween the  inner  and  outer  rectangles  is  poor  the 
simplest  experiment  will  prove.  In  any  case, 
where  the  border  line  is  used  it  may  separate  two 
colors,  either  two  self-tones  or  two  different  hues, 
in  this  manner  introducing  still  further  interest 
through  contrast.  The  border  line  usually  should 
be  darker  than  the  colors  which  it  separates. 

Color  and  Pictures  in  the  Home.  It  was  after 
a  lecture  on '  '  The  Ultra-Moderns  in  Art ' '  delivered 
in  one  of  the  large  cities  before  a  woman 's  club, 
that  one  of  the  committee  eager  to  avail  herself 
of  the  very  latest  in  Art-Style  and  Fashion  asked 
the  author  whether  it  was  true  that  pictures  were 
"out."  What  she  referred  to  no  doubt  was  the 
fashion  which  was  then  "coming  in,"  of  omitting 
pictures  in  the  scheme  of  most  of  the  rooms. 
High-priced  wall  coverings,  silks,  satins,  velvets, 
rare  papers,  or  wood  effectively  paneled  were  be- 
ing used  as  sufficient  in  themselves. 

The  fact  is  that  as  long  as  people  love  pictures 
they  can  remain  part  of  the  home  decoration,  fash- 
ion or  no  fashion.  If  the  tendency  was  and  is 
against  them,  it  is  largely  because  they  are  all  too 
frequently  among  the  disturbing  things  in  other- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  123 

wise  fair  homes.  For  one  thing,  as  frequently 
as  not,  the  paintings  in  many  homes  are  all  wrong 
in  color  and  bought  for  reasons  quite  unrelated 
to  decorative  harmony.  ' '  So  and  so  down  at  the 
Club  is  a  jolly  good  fellow,"  the  husband  an- 
nounces, '  '  and  I  thought  I  'd  surprise  you  with  one 
of  his  Alaskan  scenes  ' ' ;  whereupon  the  cold  paint- 
ing, blue  and  white  and  green,  is  hung  in  a  room 
which  cannot  stand  those  notes.  Assuming  that 
the  room  is  good  up  to  that  point,  the  appearance 
of  that  picture  among  the  remaining  color  notes 
is  as  likely  to  be  a  discordant  intrusion  as  the  ad- 
dition of  a  chance  phrase  composed  by  an  outsider 
thrown  into  a  melody.  Then  again  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  the  frames  of  pictures  are  in  themselves 
annoying  color  spots  detaching  from  the  scheme. 
Picture  Hanging  a  Problem  in  Color  Propor- 
tion and  Contrast.  But  assuming  that  the  color 
of  the  picture,  and  both  the  design  and  color  of 
the  frame  are  harmonious,  the  next  source  of  diffi- 
culty is  the  size  and  proportion  of  the  picture.  In 
many  an  old  English  home,  the  panel  for  the  fam- 
ily portrait  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  room  plan 
as  was  the  mantel.  The  homes  were  family  pos- 
sessions and  pictures  made  places  for  themselves, 
or  places  were  made  for  pictures.  But  the  mod- 
ern decorator  planning  a  house  for  Monsieur  Nou- 
veau  Eiche  finds  it  easier  and  safer  to  deny  pic- 
tures a  place  in  the  home  than  to  have  a  long 
tussle  with  his  patron  in  which  he  explains  how 
hopelessly  bad  his  patron's  pictures  are,  and  how 


124  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

poorly  they  would  fit  into  the  paneled  spaces. 

It  is  not  enough  that  a  given  spot  of  decoration, 
a  picture  for  example,  be  harmonious  in  color;  it 
must  also  be  harmonious  in  space  relations,  or  in 
proportion.  The  square,  the  long  or  broad  ob- 
long picture,  must  in  general  proportion  and  size 
fit  the  wall  space  upon  which  it  is  hung.  If  a  pic- 
ture is  well  chosen  and  of  a  size,  proportion  and 
color  suitable  to  a  given  space,  and  if  it  groups  in 
with  a  piece  of  furniture  or  mantel  as  a  complete 
unit  of  space  and  color  relations,  it  is  quite  de- 
sirable, fashion  notwithstanding.  If  one's  purse 
will  allow,  decorations  painted  directly  for  given 
panels  set  aside  for  the  purpose  as  part  of  a  com- 
plete scheme  are  of  course  the  ideal  in  pictures. 

The  subject  of  pictures  cannot  be  discussed 
without  a  word  regarding  the  mats  used  in  fram- 
ing prints  and  reproductions.  As  a  rule  the  mats 
may  well  be  omitted  as  an  unnecessary  note. 
Where  mats  are  used,  colored  silks  mounted  on 
the  mat  board  are  in  many  cases  preferable  to  the 
gold  mat  both  for  the  sake  of  the  picture  and  the 
wall ;  but  in  any  event  either  colored  silk  of  right 
hue,  colored  papers  or  even  gold  are  generally 
preferable  to  white,  which  tends  to  create  a  hole 
in  the  wall. 

Color  in  the  Accessories.  Care  in  the  Use  of 
White.  While  on  this  subject  of  white  in  mats  it 
is  worth  observing  that  white  is  not  simply  a 
neutral  non-committal  common  factor  which  can 
safely  be  thrown  into  any  color  scheme.  It  is  a 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  125 

positive  color  quite  as  capable  of  hurting  a  color 
scheme  as  any  other  color.  For  one  thing,  even 
in  the  reduced  light  of  interiors,  it  almost  always 
detaches  from  its  surroundings  and  "  jumps. " 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  white  was  referred  to  as 
likely  to  make  a  hole  in  the  wall. 

From  this  point  of  view  it  will  be  seen  that 
white  scarfs,  and  white  centerpieces  as  well  as 
white  mats  may  incline  to  be  too  loud,  too  edgy, 
too  all-important.  If  one  entered  a  most  carefully 
planned  room,  all  the  colors  beautifully  harmon- 
ized but  rather  low  in  key,  a  white  mat  on  a  pic- 
ture, and  a  white  scarf  on  a  sideboard  would,  if 
the  light  at  all  favored  them,  be  the  first  and  for 
some  little  time  almost  the  only  notes  in  evidence. 
White  indoors  is  a  fairly  aggressive  color  and 
though  it  adds  to  cheer  through  its  suggestion  of 
light,  it  is  best  not  to  throw  it  into  the  scheme 
on  the  theory  that  it  is  harmless. 

Backgrounds  and  Decorations.  Climaxes. 
Portieres,  rugs,  curtains,  wall  papers,  and  any 
large  area,  horizontal  or  vertical,  may  well  be 
left  comparatively  quiet  and  receding,  the  bright 
and  intense  colors,  if  there  are  any  in  the  scheme, 
being  reserved  for  the  accessories.  The  small 
areas  of  applique,  stencil,  or  other  pattern  may  be 
bright  against  the  duller  quieter  tones  of  the 
ground.  The  theory  of  proportion  in  color  har- 
mony is  thus  observed  in  that  small  intense  areas 
balance  large  dull  areas. 

It  is  interesting  to  sum  up  the  whole  scheme 


126  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

with  its  dominant  and  subordinate  colors  in  some 
one  climax  in  the  accessories.  The  flowers  on  the 
dresser,  reflected  in  the  mirror,  may  sum  up  the 
scheme  of  the  room  in  one  accent  of  richer  pat- 
tern and  stronger  hue.  Two  massive  Chinese 
floor  vases  at  either  side  of  a  window,  may  in 
their  copper,  blue  and  ivory  tones  act  as  the  key 
to  a  dining-room  scheme.  A  Post-Impressionist 
painting,  in  red,  blue,  black  and  yellow  spots,  hung 
in  strongest  light  might  be  the  clue  to  the  scheme 
of  a  library,  accenting  the  mosaic  tones  of  the 
books  and  the  general  furnishings,  or  a  quill  pen 
upon  the  desk  might  furnish  the  note  of  climax  in 
its  intense  yellow  grading  to  orange. 

Sometimes  this  accenting  note  is  a  contrasting 
note  as  when  a  blue  painting  with  golden  subordi- 
1fate  tones  is  the  climax  of  a  room  decorated  in 
dominant  orange;  or  a  black  piano  is  made  the 
climax  of  a  gray  and  orange  music  room. 

Adaptation  to  Structure.  Active  Colors  and 
Size  of  Room.  People  are  seldom  conscious  when 
they  are  disturbed  by  poor  color  choice,  unless  in 
addition  to  being  poorly  chosen  the  colors  are  also 
unusual.  They  will  seldom  be  aware  that  the  dis- 
comfort they  experience  in  a  given  room  is  due 
in  part  at  least  to  the  color  scheme.  They  grow 
nervous,  restless,  irritable,  without  realizing  that 
the  walls  have  been  crowding  and  annoying  them 
and  that  the  room  is  filled  with  details  in  strong 
advancing  colors  which  jump.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  colors  have  among  their  properties, 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  127 

activity.  Some  colors  are  active  and  advancing, 
others  are  weak  and  receding.  Thus  pure  blue 
recedes  as  compared  with  pure  orange,  and  gray 
blue  recedes  as  compared  with  pure  blue. 

This  property  of  color  has  a  bearing  on  aerial 
perspective  and  the  sense  of  space  and  distance. 
It  would  follow  then  that  colors  could  be  so  em- 
ployed in  room  decorating  as  to  increase  or  de- 
crease the  apparent  proportions  of  the  room. 
Active  colors  advancing  would  tend  to  bring  the 
walls  and  floor  towards  the  eye.  In  a  small  room 
active  colors  would  seem  to  cramp  and  crowd  the 
occupants.  Eeceding  colors,  suggesting  space, 
would  in  their  aloofness  seem  either  to  completely 
remove  a  sense  of  limiting  walls  and  ceiling,  or  at 
least  tend  to  keep  them  remote. 

Intensity  and  Size  of  Room.  In  determining 
which  colors  shrink  a  room  through  their  activ- 
ity, the  element  of  intensity  in  colors  must  be 
considered.  For  though  blue  and  green  are  re- 
ceding as  compared  with  red  or  orange  of  the 
same  value  and  intensity,  an  intense  blue  may 
become  very  active  in  a  scheme  of  grays.  Even 
blues  and  greens  if  pure  can  become  too  insistent 
and  bring  the  walls  up  through  the  positiveness 
of  their  optic  assault.  Reducing  the  intensity,  or 
in  other  words  graying  the  colors,  makes  them 
less  advancing  and  insistent  in  their  retinal  stim- 
ulation, and  to  that  extent  more  likely  to  increase 
the  apparent  size  of  the  room.  Observe  how  the 
grayed  tones  suggest  spaciousness  in  nature.  In 


128  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  gray  mists,  the  river  and  the  fields  seem 
broader,  the  ships  and  trees  seem  taller. 

Texture  and  the  Size  of  Rooms.  The  funda- 
mental thing  about  the  influence  of  color  on  the 
apparent  size  of  rooms  is  the  fact  that  the  more 
eye-stimulating  colors  are,  the  more  likely  are 
they  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  room.  Advancing 
colors  and  intense  colors  are  therefore  not  well 
designed  for  small  rooms.  From  this  same  point 
of  view,  however,  even  gray  colors  receding  as 
color  might  prove  unfortunate  if  there  was  any- 
thing in  their  textures  which  made  for  consider- 
able retinal  excitement.  Green  is  generally  con- 
sidered a  restful  color,  but  when  shiny  or  glossy 
of  surface  it  may  become  quite  positive  and  ad- 
vancing, even  irritating.  Textures  which  reflect 
little  light  will  seem  to  yield  and  go  back  more 
than  textures  which  are  shiny  or  spotty.  Just  as 
out-doors  the  fields  are  broken  in  texture  in  the 
foreground,  but  become  even  and  less  marked 
in  texture  towards  the  middle  ground  and  dis- 
tance, so  in  a  room  distance  can  be  conveyed  by  the 
self-effacement  of  the  wall  surface  through  its 
texture. 

Color  Pattern  and  the  Size  of  Rooms.  If  the 
room  is  small,  pattern  on  the  walls  or  floors  un- 
less very  small  will  tend  further  to  reduce  its  size. 
A  surface  repeat  or  all-over  pattern  in  strongly 
contrasting  units  of  large  size  is  fatal  to  a  small 
room.  Even  small  units  upon  the  wall-paper  or 
rugs  will  be  equally  bad  if  positively  detached  be- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  129 

cause  contrast  of  tone  will  make  the  surface  more 
insistent  and  advancing.  For  a  small  room  then 
a  flat  color,  rather  gray,  cool  and  somewhat  mot- 
tled, is  best.  If  a  flowered  paper  is  used,  a  unit 
iin  a  self -tone  or  in  a  very  closely  related  value  of 
some  other  hue  would  create  vibration  of  surface 
without  detachment  and  without  shrinking  the 
room. 

If  the  ceiling  is  low  and  it  is  desirable  that  it  be 
made  to  appear  higher,  vertical  paneling  or  strip- 
ing should  be  used.  In  a  small  room  it  is  best 
to  have  the  color  of  panels  or  stripes  analogous 
to  that  of  the  wall  in  hue,  value  or  intensity. 
A  striped  pattern  in  a  small  room  might  well  be 
a  self-toned  effect  with  very  little  contrast. 
Where  the  ceiling  is  high  and  the  room  is  small 
good  proportion  may  demand  that  the  height  ap- 
pear to  be  reduced.  In  that  case  horizontal  panel- 
ing may  be  employed,  and  in  addition  the  color  of 
the  ceiling  may  be  brought  several  feet  down  the 
wall.  A  large  room  which  is  to  appear  more  in- 
timate than  spacious  will  permit  the  use  of 
stronger  intensities,  more  advancing  colors  and 
more  positive  contrasts,  all  of  which  may  tend  if 
well  organized  to  bring  it  together. 

Color  in  Floors.  It  has  been  stated  under 
adaptation  to  structure  that  color  contrast  should 
be  at  the  point  of  interest  where  the  attention  is 
to  be  focused.  In  the  light  of  this  principle  it  be- 
comes apparent  that  the  decoration  of  a  floor  in 
colors  which  claim  and  demand  considerable  at- 


130  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

tention  is  a  mistake  in  color  accenting  and  empha- 
sis. Certain  types  of  Oriental  rugs,  even  a  large 
check  pattern  in  black  and  white  squares,  no  mat- 
ter how  momentarily  effective  are  likely  to  prove 
too  exciting  and  disproportionately  interesting. 
Parquetry  is  deservedly  in  favor  because  of  the 
agreeable  self  tones  resulting  from  the  play  of 
light  on  a  given  wood  texture  set  to  catch  the  light 
at  different  angles.  Bugs  are  best,  as  are  even 
oils  and  linoleums  when  simple  strong  border 
lines,  repeating  the  rhythmic  rectangle  of  the 
rooms,  strengthen  their  surface.  A  jumpy  spotty 
pattern,  or  an  involved  medallion  which  holds  the 
attention  gives  very  much  the  same  effect  as  would 
a  red,  yellow  and  blue  striped  shoe  in  a  dress 
scheme. 

Color  in  Walls.  All  OverSj  Striping,  Paneling. 
Walls  should  remain  flat,  and  should  keep  in  the 
background  through  colors  which  are  relatively 
receding,  but  since  a  large  area  of  the  most  pleas- 
ing color  may  become  monotonous,  there  is  the 
problem  of  introducing  contrast  into  the  coloring 
of  walls.  This  may  be  achieved  by  an  "all  over" 
or  " repeat,"  by  paneling,  checking,  striping  or 
mottling. 

All  over  patterns  in  wall-paper  have  been  con- 
sidered. The  danger  of  strong  contrast  between 
the  pattern  and  the  background  color  has  been 
pointed  out,  viz.:  restless  eye  movements  are 
likely  to  be  the  result. 

Striping  introduces  an  agreeable  even  if  obvi- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  131 

ous  element  of  contrast  which  is  best  suited  to 
walls  when  restrained  in  contrast.  Checking,  cre- 
ating as  it  does  diagonal  as  well  as  vertical  and 
horizontal  lines,  is  but  little  suited  to  walls. 

Paneling  is  the  method  which  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  wall  is  best  suited  to  introduce  contrast  and 
variety  of  color  and  of  space  relations  with  the 
least  disturbance  of  the  functional  character  of 
the  wall  as  a  simple  structural  element  in  the 
architecture  of  the  room.  Though  paneling  may 
seem  a  highly  restricted  and  limited  form  of  de- 
sign expression  if  the  reader  will  draw  ten  rectan- 
gles each  to  correspond  to  one  wall  of  a  given  pro- 
portion of  width  to  height,  and  then  upon  these 
rectangles,  plan  ten  different  schemes  of  paneling, 
the  possibilities  of  variety  in  paneling  will  become 
evident.  If  the  ceiling  is  low  and  it  is  desirable 
to  make  it  seem  higher  the  verticals  are  empha- 
sized. If  high  and  the  ceiling  is  to  be  lowered  in 
appearance,  the  horizontal  lines  are  dominant. 

Modifying  the  Box-like  Character  of  the  Room. 
An  additional  source  of  pleasure  to  the  eye  in 
the  treatment  of  walls,  one  which  may  not  seem 
to  be,  correctly  speaking,  a  color  effect  is  the 
breaking  up  of  the  flat  wall  surface  by  projecting 
volumes  either  the  full  height  of  the  wall  or  re- 
duced. Such  projections  if  low  and  supporting 
plants,  bronzes  or  vases  add  interesting  variety  to 
a  room  which  would  otherwise  seem  box-like. 
That  the  eye  takes  much  pleasure  from  variations 
in  the  movement  of  the  planes  of  the  walls  and 


132  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ceilings,  is  attested  by  the  fascination  of  raftered 
ceilings,  fireplaces,  well  designed  mantels,  a  stair- 
case or  even  a  balcony.  This  variety  in  the  rela- 
tions of  planes  and  volumes  is  also  in  part  at 
least  a  color  effect  making  as  it  does  for  self -tones 
and  cast  shadows. 

Color  in  the  Ceiling.  An  important  item  in  a 
color  scheme  neglected  by  most  apartment  dwell- 
ers, even  by  those  who  have  leanings  towards 
art  and  decoration  as  applied  to  the  home,  is 
the  ceiling.  Of  what  use  is  it  to  plan  a  scheme  of 
furnishings  which  would  harmonize  walls,  hang- 
ings, rugs  and  furniture  only  to  stop  all  thought  of 
harmony  at  the  picture  moulding,  the  Dutch  shelf, 
or  some  other  arbitrary  Mason  and  Dixon  line 
above  which  white  plaster  covers  the  whole  area. 
This  dull  dead  white  of  the  ceiling  certainly  can- 
not be  assumed  to  be  a  constant  in  color  harmony, 
.always  good,  no  matter  what  the  color  and  fur- 
nishings of  the  rest  of  the  room  may  be.  That 
the  ceiling  is  part  of  the  room  scheme  should  be 
more  generally  recognized. 

A  white  ceiling  is  frequently  offensive  and 
harmful  to  the  rest  of  the  scheme.  The  only 
-thing  that  may  be  urged  for  it  is  that  it  helps  keep 
,a  room  light,  particularly  at  night,  by  reflecting 
gas  or  electric  light.  But  this  is  only  an  excuse, 
:not  a  justification.  For  in  rooms  where  there  is 
evidence  in  every  color  that  light  and  reflected 
light  have  not  been  the  general  aim,  this  same 
white  ceiling  will  be  found, 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  133 

The  color  of  the  ceiling  may  be  chosen  either 
on  the  theory  of  related  harmony  or  of  contrast- 
ing harmony.  If  the  dominant  note  of  the  room 
is  orange  and  brown,  with  blue  subordinate,  the 
ceiling  may  be  either  a  pale  grayed  orange  lighter 
in  tone  than  the  dominant  orange  of  the  room,  or 
a  light  grayed  blue  to  complement  the  warm  tones 
of  the  room. 

As  colors  tend  to  be  advancing  in  proportion  to 
their  intensity  or  purity,  it  is  wise  to  keep  the 
ceiling  colors  somewhat  grayed  so  that  the  ceiling 
is  not  brought  down  upon  the  heads  of  the  occu- 
pants. If  a  ceiling  is  somewhat  high  and  lacking 
in  intimacy,  the  room  can  be  brought  to  smaller 
scale  by  a  somewhat  purer  hue.  It  will  also  be 
recalled  that  a  gradation  from  low  value  rugs  to 
middle  value  walls  to  high  value  ceiling  makes  an 
agreeable  progression. 

Color  Composition  in  Interior  Decoration.  A 
very  important  feature  in  room  furnishing  in  its 
bearing  not  only  on  the  apparent  size  of  the  room 
but  also  on  the  essential  harmony  of  its  appear- 
ance is  underlying  unity  in  the  character  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  patterns  and  colors  which  en- 
ter into  the  wall-papers,  hangings,  upholstery 
and  the  many  other  details  of  the  room.  All  the 
colors  might  be  agreeable  as  colors  and  might  be 
fitting  in  relation  to  the  use  of  the  room  and  yet 
the  effect  might  be  poor  if  there  were  no  well 
organized  relation  of  colors  binding  all  the  ele- 
ments of  the  room  into  a  unity. 


134  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Rhythm  in  Hues.  Related  Movement  of 
Weight  in  Colors.  An  aid  to  an  ensemble  effect 
is  a  gradual  progression  of  color  from  heavier 
tones  in  the  floor  to  lighter  ones  in  the  ceiling. 
This  is  a  logical  progression  and  it  is  pleasing.  A 
room  which  has  heavier  colors  in  the  upper  sec- 
tion seems  out  of  balance  and  top  heavy.  All  our 
associations  with  nature  have  accustomed  us  to 
a  sort  of  specific  gravity  in  color,  the  heavy  tones 
in  the  supporting  colors  below,  and  the  airy  at- 
mospheric thinner  colors  above. 

From  this  point  of  view  it  would  be  a  mistake 
to  plan  a  ceiling  in  black,  intense  red,  strong  dark 
green  or  any  color  heavier  than  that  of  the  wall 
and  floor.  A  ceiling  so  decorated,  unless  very 
high  would  seem  to  rest  directly  upon  the  heads 
of  those  in  the  room.  Since  an  orderly  progres- 
sion makes  for  a  sense  of  clarity  and  unity,  it  is 
a  good  plan  to  have  a  well  thought  out  movement 
of  values,  hues  and  intensities  from  the  floor 
through  the  walls  to  the  ceiling.  Horizontal 
paneling  in  the  walls  is  an  aid  to  the  deliberate 
movement  of  these  steps. 

Rhythm  in  Hues.  Chiaroscuro.  The  most 
agreeable  color  extended  over  a  large  area  with- 
out variety  or  contrast  becomes  unpleasant, 
through  its  monotony.  The  lighting  of  a  room 
introduces  an  unplanned  chiaroscuro  along  the 
wall  or  ceiling  as  it  recedes  from  the  window. 

This  effect  of  a  gradation  from  mellow  light 
through  half-tones  to  dark  shadows  can  be  deliber- 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  135 

ately  intensified  for  the  sake  of  that  mystery  and 
glamour  which  chiaroscuro  is  capable  of  suggest- 
ing. The  more  concentrated  the  source  of  light, 
the  more  effective  will  be  the  play  of  light  and 
dark.  A  diffuse  light  due  to  many  windows 
makes  sharp  edges  and  even  marked  gradations 
more  difficult  to  achieve.  Just  at  present  there  is 
a  passion  for  light  and  a  love  of  silver  clarity,  due 
no  doubt  to  modern  ideas  in  sanitation  as  well  as 
to  the  worship  of  the  sun,  the  outdoors  and  fresh 
air.  It  is  a  wholesome  reaction  to  the  drawn 
shades  and  dismal  interior  gloom  of  a  generation 
ago.  But  there  is  no  point  to  a  complete  rejec- 
tion of  the  principle  of  chiaroscuro. 

The  Mood  of  Chiaroscuro.  The  author  recalls 
how  wandering  one  night  through  old  New  York 
he  came  upon  a  little  side  street,  just  one  block 
deep,  at  the  far  end  of  which  a  lamp  cast  the  soli- 
tary light  for  the  two  rows  of  houses.  There  was 
a  spell  and  mystery  about  the  beautiful  play  of 
light  and  dark  which  radiated  from  that  softly 
glowing  lamp  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  de- 
scribe. Light  flooded  streets  may  seem  safer,  but 
from  a  color  point  of  view  this  street  was  more 
eye-filling  and  romantic.  In  one  of  the  hallways 
of  that  street  a  candle  was  burning.  The  same 
mood  emanated  from  that  flickering  point  of  warm 
light,  the  softly  illumined  surfaces  and  the  deep 
shadows  of  that  hallway.  For  the  eye  at  least 
the  hallway  had  it^  fascination.  So  too  in  inte- 
riors, the  sharp  clear  light  which  is  so  in  vogue 


136  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

may  be  desirable  for  many  reasons,  but  there  is  a 
mood  about  chiaroscuro  for  which  the  adven- 
turous decorator  may  well  strive.  Chiaroscuro 
can  be  secured  through  the  concentration  of  the 
source  of  light,  through  the  depth  of  the  window 
frame  and  through  curtaining. 

Rhythm  in  the  Contours  of  Color  Masses.  In 
a  room,  the  colors  of  which  had  all  been  well  se- 
lected as  a  color  chord,  the  lack  of  unity  would 
offend  if  the  lines  of  the  color  planes  in  rugs,  por- 
tieres, wall-paper  and  the  other  elements  had  no 
well  related  rhythm.  Eugs  which  are  thrown 
about  at  random,  pictures  hung  haphazardly  at 
different  levels,  contrasting  decorative  units  on 
walls,  floors  or  other  surfaces,  all  tend  to  keep  the 
eye  jumping  nervously  from  one  point  to  another. 

Patterned  wall-papers,  cretonnes,  embroidered 
hangings,  the  spotting  of  cushions  on  a  couch  or 
of  ornaments  on  mantels  or  shelving  are  all  so 
many  things  which  the  average  home  builder 
thinks  of  independently  at  the  time  of  selection. 
The  result  of  lack  of  organization  in  the  line 
movement  of  this  material  is  very  much  as  though 
a  number  of  musicians  in  a  room  were  each  play- 
ing a  different  melody  written  in  different  time. 
A  simple  related  movement  in  the  lines  makes  for 
poise  and  restfulness ;  a  lack  of  clear,  well-organ- 
ized rhythms  creates  unrest  and  disorder. 

Surface  Patterns  and  Detached  Spottiness. 
Wall-paper  repeats,  rugs,  upholsteries  and  dra- 
peries which  are  flowered  become  more  active 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  137 

and  eye-stimulating  by  virtue  of  their  surface 
pattern.  For  pattern  creates  a  contrast  of 
values,  intensities  and  hues  between  the  ornament 
and  the  field  or  background.  The  stronger  this 
contrast  the  more  active  becomes  the  surface. 
When  the  ornament  is  in  marked  detachment  from 
the  field,  this  insistence  becomes  the  more  irritat- 
ing. But  the  colors  or  the  spotting  of  the  cre- 
tonne or  wall-paper  pattern  may  be  such  that  a 
vibrating  middle  tone  is  created.  A  pattern 
black,  gold  and  pure  green  might  create  a  very 
spotty  and  jumpy  wall.  This  could  be  remedied 
(a)  by  using  the  same  pattern  in  self -tones  of 
close  values  of  gray  green  or  gold,  or  (b)  by 
changing  the  pattern,  spotting  gold  and  blue  green 
over  the  black,  black  and  gold  over  the  green, 
green  and  black  over  the  gold.  A  Kermanshah 
rug  illustrates  this  treatment.  Colors  which 
"jump"  or  in  other  words  detach  from  their  set- 
ting make  for  restless  eye  movements  and  en- 
forced retinal  excitement.  The  most  complicated 
spotting,  flowered  or  geometrical,  will,  however, 
keep  its  place  when  it  is  very  close  in  hue  value 
and  intensity  to  the  ground  or  field. 

Balance  of  Hues.  A  room  interior  which  is  all 
warm  or  all  cold,  all  active  or  all  passive,  all  low 
in  value,  or  all  high  in  value  would  annoy.  A 
room  which  is  warm  would  look  flushed ;  if  all  cold 
it  would  seem  chill ;  if  all  neutral  it  would  fail  to 
<jheer  or  stimulate.  A  room  which  is  all  low  in 
value  would  create  gloom;  if  all  high  in  value,  it 


138  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

would  possibly  be  glaring.  A  balance  of  warm 
and  cool  notes  should  generally,  but  not  neces- 
sarily, be  in  favor  of  warmth.  If  cool  colors  pre- 
dominate and  do  not  serve  merely  as  a  setting  for 
rich  warm  tones,  a  certain  formal  chilliness  may 
attach  to  the  color  mood  of  the  room.  Keceding 
colors  can  be  used  for  the  large  masses  of  back- 
ground or  settings;  active  advancing  colors  for 
the  smaller  areas  of  cushions,  vases,  flowers,  orna- 
ments on  screens  and  other  decorative  areas. 

Balance  of  Value.  If  the  background  is  quite 
dark,  the  effect  can  be  relieved  by  higher  values 
in  the  accessories.  If  the  background  is  quite 
light  an  interesting  contrast  can  be  obtained 
through  dark  notes  in  the  furnishings.  Where 
there  is  much  contrast  of  value  it  is  well  to  avoid 
too  great  a  contrast  of  hue.  Colors  both  fairly 
gray  and  of  like  or  related  hue  may  be  in  strong 
contrast  of  value  without  disturbing  the  eye  quite 
as  much  as  if  there  were  simultaneously  with  this 
contrast  of  value,  extreme  contrast  of  intensity 
and  hue. 

If  any  one  area  is  too  light  in  value  and  is 
therefore  likely  to  detach,  it  can  in  many  cases 
be  reduced  in  value  through  deliberate  spotting 
or  through  cast  shadows.  Thus  in  a  given  case 
the  author  saw  that  a  wall  border  was  too  light  in 
value,  and  that  it  obtruded  upon  the  eye.  The 
color  chord  which  had  appeared  harmonious  in  the 
hand  proved  weak  when  applied  because  the  bor- 
der looked  too  detached.  It  was  decided  to  break 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  139 

up  the  long  horizontal  band.  But  how?  A  Chi- 
nese lantern  was  hung  from  the  ceiling  at  a  point 
near  the  window  so  that  it  threw  a  shadow  across 
the  border  band.  Slightly  beyond  this  shadow  a 
picture  was  introduced.  This  was  horizontal  in 
shape,  exactly  the  width  of  the  band  and  with  a 
color  note  complementary  to  that  of  the  border. 
After  another  interval  a  second  picture  was  in- 
troduced. Beyond  this,  upon  a  bookcase,  a  great 
mass  of  autumn  leaves  in  a  bowl  furnished  an  in- 
teresting color  note  and  with  the  shadow  which  it 
cast  completed  the  problem  of  breaking  up  the 
long  horizontal  panel  which  had  proved  out  of  key. 

Adaptation  of  Color  to  Light.  The  home 
builder  who  plans  a  room  without  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  lighting  of  that  room,  in  the  morn- 
ing, in  the  afternoon,  and  at  night,  is  likely  to 
come  to  grief  when  the  color  scheme  has  at  last 
been  applied.  In  any  given  case  much  of  course 
depends  upon  personal  feeling  and  the  color  mood 
at  which  the  decorator  is  aiming.  Thus  a  room 
exposed  to  the  south  may  be  carried  out  as  a  sun 
flooded  room  warm  and  gay,  and  the  colors  may 
be  made  light  and  joyous.  For  one  who  prefers 
a  more  subdued  light  and  restraint  in  mood,  the 
strong  outdoor  light  would  have  to  be  balanced 
by  dark  and  even  cool  colors.  However,  it  would 
be  safer  to  keep  a  southern  room  even  when  re- 
duced in  value  and  intensity,  in  those  color  tones 
which  blend  with  the  sunlight  which  will  enter. 

In  a  northern  room,  where  the  light  is  gray  and 


140  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

cool  and  the  windows  are  few,  it  may  be  desirable 
to  have  a  scheme  in  higher  values  and  fuller  in- 
tensities ;  or  a  virtue  may  be  made  of  its  subdued 
light  in  which  case  warmth  and  glowing  purity  of 
tones  would  be  featured  within  the  low  values. 

In  rooms  facing  east  or  west,  the  light  may 
vary  from  cool  at  one  time  to  warm  and  sunny  at 
another,  but  the  change  from  daylight  to  artificial 
light  which  is  still  greater  dictates  that  in  all 
rooms  the  designer  is  forced  to  think  of  harmony 
under  changing  conditions  of  illumination. 

In  rooms  facing  east  and  west  the  solution  in- 
volves a  compromise  between  the  schemes  which 
meet  the  more  positive  conditions  of  the  north 
and  south  exposure.  A  warm  curtain  filtering 
even  the  cooler  light  may  help  to  keep  the  scheme 
intended  for  sunny  exposure  looking  as  well  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  the  day. 

Color  and  Artificial  Light.  There  are  occa- 
sional articles  on  the  possibilities  of  reducing  gas 
and  electric  bills  through  changing  one's  wall 
paper.  But  the  suggestions  which  they  contain 
are  not  so  very  helpful  to  one  who  prefers  color 
harmony  to  gas  economy.  Granting  that  the 
use  of  certain  colors  will  reflect  more  light  or 
give  the  same  light  for  less  money,  are  all  other 
considerations  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  passion  for 
light  as  such?  The  fact  is  that  the  more  light 
one  has  in  a  room  poor  in  color,  the  worse  the  ef- 
fect. A  harmonious  room  will  look  agreeable  in 


COLOR  IN  THE  HOME  141 

soft  reduced  light;  a  discordant  room  is  not  im- 
proved by  light  as  such. 

Strong  artificial  light  may  have  a  decided  effect 
upon  the  carefully  planned  scheme,  modifying 
some  one  or  more  of  the  colors  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  the  harmony  of  the  day  the  discord  of  the 
night.  Just  as  no  modern  shopper  chooses  her 
day  dress  by  artificial  light,  or  her  evening  gown 
by  daylight,  so  no  modern  home  builder  should 
select  the  wall-paper  and  ceiling  tones  with  re- 
gard only  to  daylight.  The  scheme  should  be 
finally  decided  upon  only  after  the  test  of  artificial 
lighting  proves  that  the  effect  by  daylight  and  the 
effect  by  night  light  will  both  be  harmonious. 

It  would  be  almost  impossible  clearly  to  fore- 
cast every  possible  effect  of  artificial  light  as  so 
much  would  depend  upon  the  color  of  the  light, 
e.g.,  whether  more  or  less  yellowish ;  on  its  intens- 
ity and  on  the  textures  of  the  colors  receiving  the 
light.  But  one  general  truth  may  be  noted, 
namely  that  the  yellow  in  a  given  color  as  the  yel- 
low in  yellow-green  tends  to  be  lost  in  artificial 
light,  so  that  the  green  in  a  room  will  seem  more 
bluish,  yellows  and  creams  will  be  grayed,  orange 
will  grow  reddish.  When  the  yellow  in  the  color 
of  the  room  is  essential  to  the  harmony,  and  the 
scheme  minus  its  yellow  is  poor  in  effect  the 
choice  of  somewhat  more  positive  yellow  com- 
pounds in  which  the  yellow  will  persist  may  save 
the  scheme.  In  any  event  the  color  could  be  ac- 


142  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

tually  studied  under  artificial  light  so  that  a  direct 
experimenting  under  the  given  conditions  would 
enable  the  decorator  to  anticipate  difficulties  and 
correct  them. 

Though  one  way  to  correct  the  effect  is  the  mod- 
ification of  the  scheme  in  some  of  its  hues,  another 
which  is  sometimes  not  only  satisfactory  but  even 
highly  desirable  is  the  use  of  colored  lights.  The 
lamp-shade  or  electric  globe  can  be  of  such  a  hue 
as  to  throw  into  the  scheme  the  correcting  and 
blending  color. 


CHAPTER  VII 
COLOR  IN  BUSINESS 

The  Psychology  of  Appeal  in  Business.  Busi- 
ness is  based  upon  salesmanship.  The  possession 
of  an  idea  is  insufficient,  the  creation  of  a  plant  for 
commercializing  it,  which  is  in  itself  a  triumph 
of  salesmanship  at  the  organizing  end,  is  insuf- 
ficient. There  is  yet  the  consumer  to  be  reached, 
the  consumer  whose  desire  must  be  whetted.  If 
the  object  in  question  is  a  new  one,  the  consumer 
must  be  worked  upon  until  he  feels  a  need  for  it. 
If  it  is  an  old  one  there  is  need  of  arousing  his 
interest  in  it  through  some  point  of  appealing 
newness. 

As  color  is,  in  spite  of  the  subconscious  nature 
of  its  appeal,  a  means  of  arousing  and  stimulating 
attention  its  importance  can  hardly  be  overesti- 
mated. This  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  some 
phases  of  color  appeal  in  business. 

The  Artist  and  Color  in  Business.  Just  as  the 
artist  and  the  artisan  in  the  Middle  Ages  rendered 
a  large  part  of  their  most  beautiful  creative  effort 
to  the  service  of  the  church  which  was  their  pat- 
ron, so  to-day  in  ever-increasing  measure  art  is 
becoming  a  handmaiden  to  that  mighty  institution 
of  our  own  day,  namely  business.  Each  year  sees 
thousands  of  young  men  and  women  trained  to  be 

143 


144  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

mystic  priests  of  the  cult  of  art  for  art's  sake 
switched  into  "commercial  art"  for  lack  of  any 
general  social  demand  for  their  pictures.  There 
are  those  who  deplore  this  "  commercializing "  of 
art,  who  would  keep  beauty  perched  in  solemn  and 
aloof  dignity  upon  a  high  pedestal  of  inutility. 
But  if  color  and  design  are  forces  worth  while, 
there  is  little  to  regret  and  much  to  be  thankful  for 
in  the  growing  tendency  to  apply  them  to  our  en- 
vironment, instead  of  limiting  them  to  easel  pic- 
tures built  upon  undigested  art  formulae. 

There  is  of  course  a  certain  old-fashioned  aris- 
tocratic tradition  of  the  essential  coarseness  and 
vulgarity  of  commerce  which  makes  the  young 
painter's  entrance  into  commercial  art  akin  to  the 
devil's  fall  from  grace.  But  in  this  case  an  aes- 
thetic devil  so  falling  could  transform  hell  and 
make  it  seem  quite  heavenly.  If  business  has 
associations  of  coarseness  and  lack  of  idealism, 
there  is  no  better  way  to  overcome  this  than 
through  the  aesthetic  appeal. 

Business  as  a  social  phenomenon  certainly  ac- 
complishes much  more  for  humanity  than  did  the 
aristocracy  which  created  the  habit  of  sneering  at 
it.  But  a  corrupt  aristocracy  which  had  the  good 
sense  to  have  poets,  painters  and  sculptors  embel- 
lish its  lazy  parasitism,  is  still  looked  back  to 
fondly,  while  business  organization  which  has  been 
adding  to  human  comfort  and  extending  the  boun- 
daries of  pleasure  must  submit  to  the  constant  slur 
of  the  idealistic  art  critics. 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  145 

Many  of  the  great  artists  of  the  Middle  Ages 
and  Renaissance  came  from  the  ranks  of  those  who 
approached  their  work  as  simple  craftsmen,  wood- 
carvers  of  church  benches,  stone  masons,  jewelers, 
workers  in  gold  and  fresco  painters.  Their  work 
evolved  naturally  from  a  craftsman's  skill  to  an 
artist's  self-expression.  To-day  the  art  student 
gets  an  education  which  relates  to  nothing  at  all. 
His  drawing  is  ' '  correct ' '  but  without  reference  to 
an  aim.  His  coloring  is  "true"  but  without 
thought  of  organization.  Even  expression  is  not 
encouraged  though  it  is  tacitly  assumed  to  be  the 
end  and  aim  of  his  studies. 

On  leaving  the  art  school,  the  artist  finds  him- 
self stranded.  There  is  no  relation  between  what 
he  has  learnt  and  anything  in  life.  On  the  one 
hand,  his  drawing  and  painting  are  not  means  of 
self-expression,  for  he  has  never  used  them  for  any 
other  purpose  than  to  copy  the  set  models.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  are  not  means  for  decorative 
employment  for  he  has  not  been  taught  design  and 
organization.  That  any  become  painters  whose 
results  justify  their  struggles  and  privations  is 
marvelous  under  the  circumstances.  But  what  is 
more  unfortunate  is  that  they  are  not  even  pre- 
pared to  render  aesthetic  service  in  business,  unless 
it  be  as  ' '  illustrators ' '  for  catalogues. 

If  more  art  schools  gave  art  courses  which  re- 
lated to  the  everyday  needs  of  life,  there  would 
be  no  dearth  of  worth-while  painters,  but  a  great 
gain  socially  and  individually  in  worth-while  de- 


146  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

signers  in  the  fields  of  business  service,  interior 
decorating,  colored  illumination,  stage  setting  and 
community  play. 

In  this  chapter  and  in  some  of  the  others  on 
>  the  practical  applications  of  color,  art  students  de- 
termined to  enter  upon  a  practical  vocation  may 
find  suggestions  for  some  social  service  which 
they  can  elevate  to  the  status  of  dignified  and 
highly  esteemed  professions. 

The  Business  Man  as  a  Color  Artist.  The  com- 
mon assumption  about  both  color  and  design  is 
that  these  being  aesthetic  lie  primarily  within 
women's  horizons  and  that  men  need  not  concern 
themselves  with  anything  quite  so  effeminate  as 
art  unless  perchance  they  are  artists.  But  a  most 
elementary  study  of  business  will  reveal  that  color 
knowledge  is  a  business  asset  and  that  color  is  a 
force  not  to  be  under-estimated  in  a  business  ca- 
reer. Apart  from  the  value  of  color  appreciation 
as  a  source  of  enjoyment,  the  pleasure  and  profit 
to  be  derived  from  color  expression  in  many 
phases  of  business  life  well  justify  a  course  in 
color  harmony  with  special  reference  to  business 
as  part  of  the  training  of  any  youth  destined  for 
a  commercial  career. 

The  line  of  division  between  the  artist  and  the 
layman  is  entirely  too  sharp  cut.  There  is  ample 
room  and  even  need  in  business  for  color  expres- 
sion by  the  lay  proprietor  or  manager.  A  busi- 
ness may  be  conducted  on  a  scale  too  small  for 
expert  advice  at  every  point,  or  taste  may  express 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  147 

itself  in  the  choice  of  such  advisers.  In  any  event, 
the  business  man  who  so  wishes,  may  take  the 
same  pride  in  the  taste  revealed  in  his  business  as 
does  a  woman  in  the  taste  revealed  in  her  home. 
He  may  look  upon  it  as  his  canvas,  one  which  his 
judgment  will  make  attractive  and  harmonious 
from  the  slightest  detail  to  the  total  impression. 
Something  of  the  drabness  of  the  small  storekeep- 
er's life  would  disappear  if  once  he  could  take  this 
artist's  joy  in  the  creative  unit  which  he  felt  was 
taking  on  character  through  the  thought  and  love 
he  was  expending  on  it.  Certain  details  like  the 
show  window,  calling  for  frequent  rearrangement, 
would  give  him  opportunity  for  a  first-hand 
glimpse  into  the  character  of  the  artist's  problems 
of  color  harmony,  dominance,  spacing,  proportion, 
balance  and  fitness  which  would  bring  him  closer 
to  the  heart  of  the  function  of  line,  mass  and  color 
than  many  of  the  present  day  art  students  ever 
reach  in  the  long  years  of  their  schooling. 

As  interest  in  the  aesthetic  side  of  business  serv- 
ice grows,  the  intelligent  proprietor  will  make  as 
close  a  study  of  color  and  design  detail  in  his  field 
of  business  as  he  does  to-day  in  the  more  obvious 
factors  of  his  work. 

For  those  who  either  as  artists  or  laymen  are 
interested  in  the  application  of  color  to  business, 
it  is  advisable  here  as  in  the  case  of  color  in  dress 
to  read  the  chapters  on  the  principles  of  color 
combination  and  color  arrangement,  as  those  chap- 
ters have  a  most  important  bearing  on  many  of  the 


148  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

problems  of  color  in  business.  Certain  special 
points  however  will  be  treated  here  under  separate 
headings. 

Color  in  Merchandise.  In  the  manufacture  of 
merchandise  the  question  of  color  is  sometimes 
dominantly  important  and  obviously  so,  as  in  the 
case  of  ties,  shirts,  dresses,  porcelain,  trimmings, 
wall-papers  and  objects  whose  function  is  largely 
decorative.  In  many  types  of  merchandise,  the 
recognition  of  the  importance  of  color  is  not  quite 
so  general.  Strangely  enough,  there  is  consider- 
able recognition  of  the  value  of  color  in  appealing 
to  the  consumer  and  stimulating  his  desire  in  the 
case  of  candies,  drinks,  and  the  service  of  dishes. 

Color  in  the  Container.  A  useful  device  for 
creating  a  good  impression  and  helping  to  fix  one 's 
firm  or  goods  in  the  mind  of  the  consumer  is  the 
color  of  the  container;  whether  it  is  a  bottle  for 
liquid  refreshment,  a  package  for  a  cereal,  a  box 
for  candy,  or  a  large  card-board  box  in  which  a 
suit  or  dress  is  delivered.  Indeed  even  the  paper 
and  string  used  by  the  small  dry-goods  store  may 
make  a  contribution.  The  color  character  of  the 
container  in  each  case  is  well  worth  the  most  care- 
ful choice. 

Color  in  Business  Offices.  The  business  man  in 
his  office  has  until  recently  been  given  to  a  rather 
dry  and  almost  deliberately  cold  type  of  fur- 
nishing. The  roll-top  desk,  the  colorless  rug, 
professional  charts,  trade  pictures,  or  enlarged 
photographs  of  departed  partners  or  directors, 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  149 

are  fairly  typical  furnishings.  As  for  a  color 
scheme,  the  thought  of  it  is  far  removed  from  the 
mind  of  the  average  business  man.  "Why  man, 
I'm  conducting  a  business  not  an  art  museum/' 
would  be  his  first  reaction  if  the  thing  were  sug- 
gested to  him. 

In  the  main  of  course  he  is  right.  A  business 
office  should  look  business-like  and  any  elaborate 
scheme  of  rich  decorative  splendor  would  not  be 
fitting.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  assumption 
that  to  give  the  impression  of  business  a  man's 
inner  office  need  be  cheerless,  unorganized  in  color 
and  without  thought  for  design  is  certainly  to  miss 
the  value  of  the  appeal  of  good  color  and  its  effect 
upon  clients.  In  fact  as  things  stand  at  present, 
a  doctor,  lawyer,  dentist  or  a  "commercial"  man 
has  few  better  means  than  art  of  impressing  his 
place  upon  the  memory  of  people  who  call.  Quite 
naturally  there  should  be  nothing  merely  pretty 
about  such  an  office.  It  should  be  simple  and  in 
harmony  with  its  character  as  a  place  where  men 
meet  to  discuss  business,  rather  than  to  dance  or 
quaff  toasts. 

Color  in  Show  Rooms.  Particularly  important 
and  worth  while,  other  things  being  equal,  is  a 
distinctive  color  scheme  and  arrangement  in  the 
show  rooms  common  to  the  clothing  business. 
The  conditions  under  which  buyers  see  the  sample 
lines  which  they  are  considering,  going  from  firm 
to  firm  for  hours  and  making  notes  of  merchandise 
for  comparison  at  the  end  of  the  day,  make  a  show 


150  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

room  which  will  stand  out  in  the  man's  memory 
through  its  color  distinctiveness,  very  desirable. 

Color  in  the  Store.  Here  is  a  field  which  no 
shop  or  store-keeper  can  afford  to  neglect.  From 
the  humblest  boot-black  shop  to  the  department 
store  there  is  hardly  a  business  which  would  not 
profit  by  the  careful  designing  of  its  interior  not 
only  for  maximum  ease  of  service,  but  also  for 
maximum  appeal  of  surroundings.  The  cheerful, 
well-appointed,  harmoniously  colored  store  cre- 
ates an  agreeable  impression  which  lingers. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  people  are  seldom  con- 
scious of  the  influence  of  the  color  factor  in  their 
business  relations,  it  is  not  only  a  matter  of  agree- 
ableness,  it  is  also  a  factor  in  prices.  Even  within 
the  present  limitations  of  store  decorations,  ex- 
amples in  point  can  be  found  in  almost  any  one's 
experience.  People  will  realize  that  they  are  pay- 
ing more  in  one  place  than  in  another ;  they  know 
this  fact,  but  it  is  the  attractiveness  of  the  more 
expensive  place  which  holds  them. 

The  larger  restaurants  and  the  hotels,  though 
they  show  an  increasing  realization  of  the  value 
of  color,  still  leave  much  to  be  desired.  The 
smaller  restaurants  are  however  woefully  ignorant 
in  this  matter.  A  day  will  come  when  it  will  be 
recognized  as  being  quite  as  stupid  to  enter  the 
venture  of  a  restaurant  without  an  attractive  dec- 
orative scheme  as  without  a  good  chef.  Mean- 
while, particularly  in  the  smaller  cities  of  the 
country,  a  dining-room  which  is  not  positively  op- 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  151 

pressive  in  its  color  tones  and  furnishings  is  a 
very  rare  thing  even  in  the  hotels.  It  may  be 
claimed  that  the  feeling  of  cleanliness  is  the  most 
important  and  the  only  color  sensation  which  a 
restaurant  need  suggest.  But  the  feeling  of  im- 
maculateness  is  in  part  a  color  problem;  certain 
colors  suggest  cleanliness  more  than  others. 

But  cleanliness  by  itself  is  not  enough,  for  a 
clean  place  might  still  be  cold  and  cheerless.  In 
fact,  a  very  carefully  planned  attempt  at  aesthetic 
effect  if  cold  may  be  worse  than  good-natured  col- 
oring which  has  not  been  especially  planned.  The 
writer  has  in  mind  one  department  store  in  which 
there  is  every  evidence  that  the  designer  planned 
for  dignity,  spaciousness  and  a  distinguished  ef- 
fect. But  the  result  is  very  formal,  cold  and  un- 
alluring.  There  is  lacking  that  agreeable  likeness 
within  difference  which  the  eye  and  mind  demand. 
The  effect  of  this  on  the  sales  of  that  store  can 
hardly  be  doubted.  Though  it  is  in  the  heart  of 
the  department  store  center,  many  shoppers  must 
be  unconsciously  influenced  by  the  scheme  to  the 
extent  of  skipping  this  place  in  their  round  of  the 
department  stores.  Even  though  it  could  not  be 
proved  that  its  austerity  is  repellent,  it  must  be 
granted  that  agreeableness  in  color  and  plan 
would  be  a  positive  factor  in  helping  to  build  and 
hold  a  clientele. 

An  aesthetically  minded  manager  should  be  con- 
sidered as  much  a  matter  of  course  in  a  depart- 
ment store  as  a  general  manager,  an  auditor  or  a 


152  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

head  buyer.  He  should  be  consulted  in  the  gen- 
eral plan  which  is  predetermined  at  the  time  of 
building,  and  thereafter  in  all  the  details  from  the 
selection  of  containers  to  the  planning  of  window 
displays,  fashion  shows  and  special  season  decora- 
tions. Everything  which  appeals  to  the  eye  from 
the  counter  cards  to  the  subway  posters  would 
come  within  his  province  and  it  would  be  his  task 
to  see  that  a  certain  distinctive  tone  should  char- 
acterize every  detail  of  the  business. 

In  specialty  shops  which  sell  goods  in  fields 
where  "  style  counts, "  it  is  of  prime  importance 
that  not  a  detail  which  can  make  for  the  proper 
effect  of  superior  elegance,  exquisite  taste,  choice- 
ness  and  "quality"  should  be  overlooked.  In 
such  cases  the  business  should  not  be  undertaken 
unless  in  location,  interior  furnishings  and  decora- 
tion the  proper  setting  for  the  goods  can  be  pro- 
vided. And  every  appeal  whether  by  circular 
letter,  news  advertisement,  poster,  parcel-wrap- 
per or  display  should  have  a  note  of  personal- 
ity and  special  attractiveness  which  will  inspire 
confidence  in  the  quality  of  the  merchandise  and 
service. 

Window  Display  as  an  Art  Impulse.  One  of 
the  most  fascinating  problems  in  retailing  is  the 
decoration  of  the  window.  The  impulse  towards 
beautifying  the  window  is  present  in  a  vague,  half- 
baked,  amorphous  state  in  almost  every  store- 
keeper. The  lettering  of  the  firm  name  on  the 
plate  glass  which  the  storekeeper  looks  at  so  lov- 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  153 

ingly  is  of  course  a  hired  service.  But  the  Chi- 
nese laundryman  who  hangs  a  little  cretonne  cur- 
tain across  his  window,  the  shoe  repairer  who  or- 
naments it  with  a  picture  of  Victor  Emanuel  and 
his  children,  the  candy  shop  which  displays  a  large 
ornamental  candy  form  and  enticing  pastries,  even 
the  butcher  who  hangs  up  his  quartered  cuts  sat- 
iny and  silky  and  gleaming  with  a  thousand  high 
lights,  all  are  attempting  a  picture  in  a  frame, 
which  he  who  runs  may  see. 

It  will  not  do  to  claim  that  the  cretonne  which 
the  laundryman  hangs  up  is  purely  utilitarian, 
that  he  wants  to  shut  out  the  street,  for  the  fact  is 
that  its  top  is  lower  than  the  eye  of  the  passer- 
by. That  his  intention,  no  matter  how  vaguely 
or  weakly  realized  or  expressed,  was  pictorial  is 
not  disproved  by  the  dirtiness  of  that  hanging  or 
its  poor  color.  Neither  a  high  degree  of  conscious 
intention,  nor  any  degree  of  color  or  design  judg- 
ment is  present  in  these  efforts ;  but  the  most  prim- 
itive window  decoration  generally  shows  in  addi- 
tion to  the  mere  display  of  store  material,  an  im- 
pulse towards  its  decorative  use. 

If  the  assumptions  of  our  news  editorials,  our 
popular  magazines  and  our  schooling  were  that 
beauty  and  the  pleasure  of  the  eye  are  things 
worth  striving  for,  that  ugliness  perpetrated  by  a 
shopkeeper  in  his  store  window  is  tantamount  to 
a  physical  assault  on  the  eyes  and  should  be  re- 
sented as  such,  this  democratic  art  impulse  pres- 
ent even  in  the  simplest  of  minds  would  grow. 


154  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Skill  and  taste  would  become  essential  to  local  suc- 
cess since  residents  would  resent  a  poor  window 
as  a  blot  upon  the  neighborhood. 

Although  this  book  may  not  be  read  by  that 
laundryman  or  that  butcher,  it  would  be  possible 
through  newspaper  contests  conducted  for  given 
localities  in  conjunction  with  a  committee  of  ar- 
tists with  Board  of  Trade  or  other  local  prizes, 
to  conduct  window  decorating  contests  which 
might  in  time  have  a  permanent  influence  upon  the 
whole  appearance  of  a  community. 

For  stores  need  not  be  a  blight  upon  a  residen- 
tial district.  In  fact  Fifth  Avenue  in  New  York 
well  proves  that  stores  if  given  a  pictorial  aspect 
can  add  to  the  interest  and  variety  of  a  section. 
There  are  fruiterers,  jewelers  and  others  so  pic- 
turesque in  their  window  display  that  they  would 
give  a  most  valuable  touch  of  color  even  to  some 
highly  restricted  and  aristocratic,  but  most  monot- 
onous residential  streets. 

The  Economic  Value  of  Window  Display.  A 
window  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  salesman  in 
the  firm  who  speaks  to  people  as  they  pass  in  the 
street,  addressing  them  in  the  language  of  color. 
A  storekeeper  who  is  paying  three  hundred  dollars 
a  month  for  rental,  and  three  hundred  more  for 
three  salesmen,  has  in  his  window  a  fourth  selling 
agent  that  costs  only  a  small  part  of  the  rental 
and  is  capable  of  earning  enough  by  itself  to  pay 
for  rental  and  clerks.  In  fact  in  the  smaller 
shops,  the  show  window  may  be  a  determining 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  155 

factor  making  the  difference  between  failure  and 
success. 

When  a  man  advertises,  people  from  one  to  fifty 
miles  away  read  about  his  wares.  They  must 
overcome  their  inertia  and  set  out  towards  the 
store  which  distributes  these  advertised  goods. 
There  are  reasons,  and  the  best  of  reasons,  in 
many  businesses  for  long  distance  advertising; 
but  what  is  strange  is  that  firms  which  spend 
fortunes  on  newspaper  copy,  neglect  to  make 
an  attractive  and  well  planned  color  appeal  to 
the  prospective  buyer  passing  just  outside  the 
shop. 

Through  the  quality  of  its  window  display  a 
shop  can  lift  itself  out  of  the  medley  of  impres- 
sions which  the  pedestrian  gathers  as  he  walks, 
to  a  focal  position  in  his  attention.  He  may  not 
buy  anything  in  the  shop  at  that  moment,  but  an 
impression  has  been  made.  The  effect  is  cumula- 
tive, for  the  passerby  gets  into  the  habit  of  watch- 
ing for  that  window  as  he  passes  to  see  what  new 
effect  has  been  planned  to  greet  his  eye. 

One  department  store  in  New  York  appa- 
rently realizing  to  the  full  the  value  of  a  distinc- 
tive and  original  window,  uses  a  complete  set  of 
decorative  paintings  as  backgrounds  for  its  dis- 
play. These  are  changed  from  time  to  time.  But 
they  are  only  the  setting  for  a  most  carefully  de- 
signed arrangement  in  each  window,  the  effect  of 
which  is  so  attractive  that  the  least  observant 
people,  who  have  hardly  ever  been  conscious  of 


156  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

any  possibilities  of  joy  in  color,  look  and  say 
"Ak!"  as  children  might. 

Of  course  if  a  window  is  to  be  looked  upon  as  a 
stage  with  proscenium  and  background,  and  with 
objects  as  the  characters  dramatically  as  well  as 
pictorially  arranged;  or  as  a  picture  in  three  di- 
mensions, then  the  principles  of  harmony,  domi- 
nance, rhythm,  balance  and  proportion,  as  well  as 
considerations  of  fitness,  are  essential  to  worth- 
while effect. 

The  Object  of  Window  Dressing.  Agreeable 
Ensemble.  A  display  novelty  of  some  freak  me- 
chanical kind  may  attract  the  passerby  but  it 
arouses  no  associations  favorable  to  the  business. 
The  old-time  small  store  keeper  employed  mechan- 
ical tickers,  which  caused  the  passerby  to  turn  his 
head  through  their  rat-a-tat  on  the  window,  but 
this  nuisance  is  seldom  met  with  nowadays.  To 
arouse  attention  is  not  the  sole  object  of  window 
dressing.  For  attention  disagreeably  forced  may 
irritate ;  attention  aroused  by  unrelated  novelties 
generally  fails  to  create  an  agreeable  association 
favorable  to  purchasing.  What  the  decorator 
must  plan  for  is  an  attention  which  once  caught  is 
held,  and  which  while  it  is  held  tends  to  arouse  an 
interest  in  the  wares,  or  a  favorable  disposition 
towards  the  concern. 

Thus  a  haberdashery  must  display  its  goods  so 
that  the  wares  take  on  maximum  effectiveness 
through  the  stimulation  of  a  craving  for  this  shirt, 
that  hat  or  the  other  tie,  and  so  that  the  shop  itself 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  157 

is  especially  remembered  for  some  warmth  in  the 
manner  of  the  silent  salesman  window.  The  total 
impression  then,  no  matter  what  the  details,  must 
be  agreeable.  Even  the  cheap  bargain  store  with 
its  piled-up  goods  in  the  windows,  its  hundreds  of 
price  tickets  all  showing  the  old  price  and  the 
new  defeats  its  own  purpose.  For  the  effect 
is  confusion.  The  eye  glancing  at  such  a  win- 
dow is  irritated  by  the  hundred  rival  bids  for 
its  attention  and  quickly  turns  elsewhere  for 
relief. 

Of  recent  years,  many  druggists  sin  quite  as 
badly  as  the  cheapest  perpetual "  selling-out "  shop 
against  the  principle  of  agreeable  "  ensemble, "  by 
presenting  a  bewildering  chaos  of  conflicting  de- 
tail. Dominance  in  impression  and  harmony  in 
detail  are  then  the  aims  of  good  window  display. 
Color  can  be  a  great  aid  towards  these  aims  and 
towards  the  agreeableness  of  impression,  even 
where  the  display  is  necessarily  over-rich  in  ob- 
jects and  tickets. 

The  Architectural  Conditions.  The  first  con- 
cern of  the  business  man  about  his  window  must 
be  for  the  architectural  or  structural  conditions. 
Window  frame,  floor,  top,  sides,  walls  and  back 
are  important  details  in  the  effect. 

The  window  frame  as  seen  from  the  outside 
should  if  possible  make  a  good  proscenium,  a 
handsome  frame  for  the  effects.  These  frames 
are  generally  painted  in  unattractive  tones  and 
then  allowed  to  grow  drab  and  soiled.  A  design 


158  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

in  contrasting  colors,  combining  novelty,  force 
and  refinement  would  help  to  disengage  a  store 
from  the  medley  of  shops.  The  flooring  should  be 
good  in  quality,  but  should  act  as  a  quiet  back- 
ground. The  character  of  the  floor  can  be 
changed,  by  means  of  rugs  or  colored  papers,  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  new  displays,  and  to  har- 
monize in  each  case.  Here  also,  novel  effects  are 
worth  striving  for.  In  one  case  a  black  flooring, 
covered  with  a  heavy  plate  glass,  reflected  the  ob- 
jects above  in  deep  and  engaging  tones. 

The  side  walls,  background  and  top  need  some 
finish  which  will  make  them  enclose  the  picture 
agreeably.  The  most  handsome  display  without  a 
rear  setting  will  look  incomplete.  The  most  beau- 
tiful arrangement  in  the  lower  window  will  annoy 
if  it  is  not  finished  off  at  the  top. 

For  floors  parquetry  has  come  into  favor,  as 
it  combines  quiet  tones  with  vibration.  For  back- 
ground one  sees  woodwork  reaching  up  from  three 
to  five  feet,  screens,  decorative  paintings,  latticed 
sliding  panels  with  glass  windows,  the  lattices  ar- 
ranged to  create  a  pattern  of  curved  and  straight 
lines. 

A  set  woodwork  background,  no  matter  how  fine 
the  qu.ality  of  the  wood,  is  generally  a  mistake 
from  the  point  of  view  of  color  interest.  Though 
department  stores  frequently  use  solid  paneled 
woodwork  as  setting  whether  in  floors  or  back- 
grounds, these  can  hardly  be  counted  on  to  fur- 
nish the  most  effective  background  for  a  display 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  159 

which  varies  from  week  to  week.  So  large  a  note, 
unless  it  is  neutral  and  quietly  receding  in  color, 
should  not  be  a  constant.  A  grooved  arrange- 
ment permitting  changing  sliding  panels,  covered 
with  silk  cretonne  or  wall  paper  would  enable  the 
decorator  to  vary  his  background  in  harmony  with 
his  display.  This  would  be  one  way  of  meeting 
the  difficulty.  Screens  with  grooves  for  chang- 
ing panels  are  also  useful  for  the  purpose  but 
most  ambitious  is  the  method  of  the  store  men- 
tioned which  employed  a  painter  to  design  very 
large  decorative  paintings  from  time  to  time. 
In  the  smaller  specialty  shops,  the  sliding  pan- 
eled glass  doors  are  effective  when  well  designed, 
as  the  glass  makes  a  quiet,  soft,  receding  color. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Window  Display. 
But  whether  the  shop  be  small  or  large,  the  back- 
ground simple  or  expensive,  the  principle  of  choice 
theoretically  would  be  that  of  simultaneous  con- 
trast. Bright  silverware  against  deep  dull  tones ; 
shirts  of  cool  grays,  blues  and  greens  against  a 
warm  background;  bright  evening  gowns  of  ex- 
otic colors  against  soft  grays  which  would  enhance 
their  brilliance,  all  illustrate  simultaneous  con- 
trast. If  there  are  reasons  why  the  harmony 
should  be  related  and  not  contrasting;  the  effect 
could  be  still  better  achieved  by  slight  differences 
in  the  intensity,  hue  and  value  of  complementary 
colors.  These  would  enhance  one  another's  qual- 
ity better  than  close  values  of  related  colors. 

Overcrowding  vs.  Clarity.    This  is  all  assum- 


160  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ing  that  the  window  is  not,  as  so  many  windows 
are,  overcrowded  with  as  much  of  the  stock  as  the 
shopkeeper  can  get  into  it.  One  example  will  suf- 
fice. A  drug  store  window  shows  a  card  "  Hints 
for  the  Vacationist. "  The  window  is  filled  with 
a  more  or  less  symmetrical  arrangement  of  tooth 
pastes,  sponges,  bathing  caps,  combs,  brushes,  rub- 
ber tubing,  headache  pills,  perfumes  and  powders. 
In  place  of  this  a  simple  decorative  panel  made  of 
cut  outs  from  colored  cardboards  could  have  sug- 
gested the  green  sea,  blue  skies  and  colored  sails, 
while  in  the  foreground  on  a  table  an  open  suit- 
case, partly  packed  would  reveal  the  accessories 
on  sale.  A  small  orange  rug  on  the  floor,  the 
orange  brown  suit  case,  the  spotting  of  the  varied 
wares  on  a  richly  dark  table  cover,  would  make  a 
complete  picture,  agreeably  surprising,  simple, 
suggestive  and  calculated  to  stir  the  imagination. 
One  simple  card  could  take  the  place  of  the  many 
tickets  of  prices  and  reductions. 

A  little  thought  will  reveal  many  other  simple 
and  equally  effective  means  of  silent  salesman- 
ship. In  front  of  a  blue  hanging,  a  canvas  tent 
might  be  placed.  Outside  of  this  the  vacationist 's 
needs  could  be  agreeably  grouped  on  a  small 
dresser  and  chair.  To  demonstrate  the  possibili- 
ties of  variety  one  more  illustration  will  be  given, 
this  time  of  an  abstract  pattern.  Against  a  soft 
blue  gray  background,  bathing  caps  of  brilliant 
hue  could  be  distributed  like  so  many  gleaming 
yellow,  orange  and  red  suns.  Streamers  of  bright 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  161 

ribbons  radiate  from  each  cap  downwards  and  for- 
wards to  low  stands.  These  stands  are  grouped 
in  a  semicircle  around  a  central  stand  somewhat 
higher  than  the  rest.  Each  stand  is  covered  with 
a  colored  cloth;  these  cloths  are  dark  blue  gray 
like  the  background.  On  these  rest  small  groups 
of  wares  which  belong  together.  As  it  is  de- 
scribed here  it  may  sound  costly,  but  it  is  not 
costly,  and  in  any  event  it  is  not  the  high  cost 
which  prevents  such  simple  and  harmonious  win- 
dows from  being  the  rule.  It  is  lack  of  education 
and  thought  in  color  and  design.  The  profes- 
sional window  decorator  could  certainly  afford  to 
carry  a  supply  of  properties,  which  he  could  use 
again  and  again  in  different  combinations.  And 
even  the  individual  shop  could  afford  a  stock  of 
varicolored  hangings,  screens  and  an  assortment 
of  wooden  boxes,  ranging  in  size  from  a  shoe  box 
to  a  case  to  use  in  planning  such  decorative  effects. 

Whatever  the  display  material  may  be,  the  usual 
window  trimmer 's  ideas  are  based  upon  mere  nov- 
elty, good  copy  with  telling  points,  or  interesting 
form  arrangements.  These  alone  are  insufficient. 
The  subconscious  appeal  of  a  simple  dominant 
agreeable  color  impression,  with  as  much  pleasant 
suggestion  and  stir  as  possible  must  be  the  aim. 

Window  Tickets.  These  should  be  so  managed 
as  not  to  bewilder  by  their  spotting.  In  color  and 
in  placing  they  should  harmonize  with  the  general 
scheme.  Their  lettering  should  be  as  well  con- 
sidered as  their  placing.  A  druggist  with  a  win- 


162  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

dow  display  featuring  his  soda  counter  showed  a 
table  all  set  with  summer  drinks.  By  the  use  of 
most  inexpensive  colored  crepe  paper  he  framed  in 
this  table  as  though  revealed  through  portieres, 
which  were  being  drawn  aside.  But  whatever 
agreeable  impression  this  might  have  created  was 
almost  completely  destroyed  by  large  square 
pieces  of  paper  pasted  against  the  plate  glass  in 
two  rows  on  either  side  of  the  window.  These 
contained  the  names  of  the  drinks  and  their  prices. 
They  were  jarring  and,  being  so  large  and  close, 
the  reading  of  any  one  was  difficult  because  the 
eye  was  kept  jumping  by  the  rivalry  of  spotting. 
Tickets  imitating  in  style  an  enlarged  table  card, 
listing  all  the  drinks  and  prices,  if  placed  on  an 
easel  at  the  lower  right  and  the  lower  left  after  the 
manner  of  the  cards  announcing  performers  in  the 
vaudeville  houses,  would  have  harmonized  much 
better  and  would  moreover  have  been  read. 

Specialty  Shops.  The  proprietor  of  the  spe- 
cialty shop  should  make  a  most  careful  study  of 
the  color  design  in  all  shops  in  the  same  field 
looking  for  any  hint  which  could  possibly  be  of 
use.  He  should  then  go  still  further  and  with  the 
aid  of  the  most  tasteful  artist  and  color  expert  he 
can  afford  lay  out  his  plan  for  the  store  interior 
and  the  window  structure.  Each  type  of  business 
has  its  own  special  problems.  The  material  itself 
is  in  most  cases  a  large  feature  in  the  store  decora- 
tion as  in  the  case  of  the  shoe  boxes  in  a  shoe  store 
or  the  supplies  in  a  drug  shop. 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  163 

In  the  case  of  a  shoe  shop  the  choice  of  wood- 
work and  of  the  color  of  the  shoe  box  should  be  the 
starting  points  in  the  scheme.  An  interesting 
paneling  or  subdivision  of  the  shelved  wall  area 
so  that  the  boxes  and  the  cabinet  work  present  an 
agreeable  color  and  space  relation  will  go  a  long 
way  towards  decorative  effect.  This  type  of  color 
planning  should  be  applied  throughout  all  the  de- 
tails, to  the  accessory  notes  of  plants  or  even 
painted  panels.  So  also  in  the  window,  not  only 
must  the  cardinal  sins  of  overcrowding  and  riv- 
alry be  avoided,  but  the  more  positive  virtues  of 
color  contrast,  dramatic  centering  of  interest, 
should  be  sought.  The  dealer  can  display  the 
same  number  of  shoes  as  appear  in  the  over- 
crowded window,  if  he  is  the  kind  who  feels  the 
absolute  need  of  showing  the  fullest  variety  to  the 
passerby;  but  even  in  that  case,  there  should  be 
one  central  dominating  point  of  interest  made 
absolutely  outstanding  through  its  placing,  on  a 
different  level  high  above  the  rest  for  example, 
and  through  its  contrast  with  an  especially  de- 
vised colored  background. 

Color  in  Circulars.  The  circulars  which  go  oui> 
by  the  millions  to  selected  mailing  lists  through- 
out the  country  represent  an  enormous  annual  ex- 
penditure in  which  must  be  reckoned  stock,  print- 
ing, hand  lettering,  illustrations,  copy  and  mailing 
costs,  as  well  as  the  cost  of  the  lists  themselves. 
If  the  business  man  planning  a  circular  campaign 
realized  the  extent  to  which  its  success  depends 


164  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

upon  an  appeal  to  the  eye,  he  would  leave  no  de- 
tail of  that  appeal  unstudied. 

When  the  letter  appears  in  the  morning's  mail, 
the  very  first  impression  made  by  the  envelope 
may  be  prejudicial  and  favor  or  mar  its  effective- 
ness. The  envelope  opened,  the  circular  con- 
tained may  be  thrown  into  the  waste-paper  basket 
without  receiving  more  than  the  one  quick  glimpse 
which  reveals  it  to  be  a  commonplace  business  so- 
licitation. Something  about  the  stock  itself,  its 
proportions,  its  addressing  and  its  coloring  should 
if  possible  enlist  attention  and  create  expectancy. 
The  circular  should  follow  this  up  by  some  agree- 
able novelty  in  stock,  color  and  spacing  if  it  is  to 
receive  consideration.  It  should  not  only  be  easy 
and  interesting  to  read,  it  should  be  so  agreeable 
to  look  at,  that  the  eye  will  gladly  linger  over  it. 
This  at  any  rate  is  the  ideal,  the  end  to  be  striven 
for. 

Stock  in  Circulars.  The  character  of  stock  is 
important  not  only  because  of  the  difference  in 
feel  and  optic  appeal,  but  because  of  the  sugges- 
tion of  quality  or  lack  of  quality  which  stock  may 
«onvey.  The  texture  of  stock  is  intimately  related 
to  color  appeal,  since  five  stocks  all  white  or  all 
*"india  tint"  give  different  color  impressions  ac- 
cording as  they  are  smooth  and  dull,  smooth  and 
glazed,  rough  pebbled,  woven  or  satiny.  The  tex- 
ture influences  the  color  making  it  flat  and  hard, 
gently  vibrating,  cheaply  shiny  like  cheap  varnish 
over  cheap  wood,  or  rich  in  gloss.  No  absolute 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  165 

rules  can  be  laid  down  except  that  the  texture 
should  be  as  pleasant  of  surface  as  the  budget  per- 
mits, because  all  other  things  being  equal  texture 
as  such  plays  a  very  large  part  in  pleasing  the  eye. 
But  the  best  of  textures  may  be  spoiled  by  poor 
printing  and  poor  color.  The  cheapest  of  texture 
may  be  improved  by  good  color. 

Colored  Stock.  Where  the  texture  is  poor  of 
necessity  because  the  outlay  must  be  kept  low,  it 
is  generally  advisable  to  use  a  colored  stock,  as  an 
agreeably  colored  stock  of  poor  texture  will  gen- 
erally make  a  pleasanter  impression  than  the  same 
texture  in  white.  Warm  colors  are  usually  pref- 
erable to  cool  colors,  and  colors  of  reduced  in- 
tensity are  as  a  rule  preferable  to  pure  colors. 
For  the  sake  of  legibility  color  should  be  of  a  value 
sufficiently  high  to  act  as  a  contrast  to  the  print. 

One  Printing  on  Colored  Stock.  Where  there 
is  only  one  printing  of  a  colored  ink  on  a  colored 
stock,  the  contrast  of  value  alone  as  a  dark  brown 
on  a  "tan"  or  cream,  or  a  dark  blue  on  a  pale  blue, 
a  dark  green  on  a  pale  green  is  safer  in  the  hands 
of  most  printers  than  a  contrast  of  hues  as  well  as 
values,  as  a  dark  blue  on  yellow,  or  dark  brown 
on  blue. 

Two  Printings  on  White  Stock.  Where  there 
are  two  printings  with  white  stock,  black  type  and 
red  used  sparingly  can  be  made  very  cheerful.  A 
special  printing  for  a  pale  yellow  would  be  wasted 
money,  owing  to  the  indefiniteness  of  value  con- 
trast between  yellow  and  white.  Even  orange  will 


166  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

not  stand  up  in  lettering  on  a  white  page  as  com- 
pared with  red. 

The  Lay  Out  in  Printing.  The  extent  to  which 
the  layout  of  a  circular  poster  or  newspaper  ad- 
vertisement may  through  its  contrasts  of  value 
make  for  interest  is  receiving  increasing  attention 
in  modern  advertising.  Black  and  white  repre- 
sent the  most  extreme  contrast  in  value.  But 
black  and  white  distributed  over  the  whole  surface 
of  a  newspaper  in  lower  case  type  without  mar- 
gins or  captions  would  create  the  effect  of  a  pale 
vibrating  pepper  and  salt  gray.  The  same  black 
enlarged  and  surrounded  by  white  creates  the  ef- 
fect of  a  greater  contrast.  In  the  first  case  the 
colors  mix  for  the  eye  to  produce  a  middle  gray. 
In  the  second  they  set  one  another  off,  the  black 
looking  blacker,  the  white  looking  whiter.  It  is 
this  fact  which  makes  the  large  white  borders 
and  the  " silent  spaces''  of  a  printed  appeal  so  im- 
portant. The  "talking  parts, "  or  the  black  copy, 
are  just  so  much  more  effective  because  of  the 
white  areas  which  set  them  off.  Most  people  pay- 
ing money  for  advertising  are  likely  to  feel  that 
they  must  make  the  fullest  use  of  their  space, 
which  is  quite  proper.  But  they  defeat  their  own 
end  when  they  interpret  full  use  of  space  to  mean 
a  filled-up  space.  Crowded  copy  without  contrast 
of  spaces  reduces  the  effectiveness  and  strength 
of  the  design  as  a  whole. 

It  is  not  color  per  se  which  is  an  aid  to  interest 
through  stimulating  attention  but  color  contrast 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  167 

and  color  arrangement.  In  a  good  layout,  there 
should  be  (a)  a  good  margin  of  white,  (b)  good 
strong  masses  of  black  so  large  in  area  as  com- 
pared with  the  white  as  to  create  an  agreeable 
balance  of  dark  and  light,  (c)  such  an  arrangement 
of  the  blacks  and  whites  as  will  create  a  rhythmic 
movement  related  to  the  shape  of  the  circular  and 
to  one  another,  (d)  such  a  relation  in  measure- 
ments of  margin,  top,  sides  and  bottom  as  well 
as  spaces  between  masses  of  copy,  as  to  create  a 
feeling  of  measured  relation  or  proportion  in  the 
parts.  Most  difficult  however  in  the  fineness  of 
the  judgment  required  is  proportion  in  the  ar- 
rangement, since  very  much  of  the  distinction  of  a 
circular  poster  or  any  other  printed  page  may  be 
largely  in  the  agreeable  contrast  of  measure  in  the 
space  relations. 

The  Value  of  Line  Movement  in  Interest. 
Where  a  printing  is  limited  to  black  and  white  or 
one  printing  on  colored  stock  and  the  designer 
wishes  to  enhance  the  attention-holding  power  of 
his  circular,  decorative  lines  and  their  movement 
can  be  of  great  service.  To  begin  with,  the  simple 
border  line  is  in  itself  very  valuable  in  unifying 
the  copy  and  framing  it.  Even  on  the  binding  of 
a  book  cover  where  the  title  and  name  of  the  pub- 
lisher appear,  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  finishing 
touches  of  a  border  line  or  two  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom to  frame  in  the  lettering. 

But  the  conservative  straight  line  border  does 
not  begin  to  express  the  possibilities  of  line  move- 


168  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ment  as  a  factor  of  color  interest.  The  eye  will 
follow  the  path  of  a  moving  line  well  set  off 
against  a  contrasting  note,  particularly  if  that 
movement  is  repeated  in  many  lines  running  par- 
allel to  it.  This  element  of  pronounced  line  move- 
ment can  be  introduced  not  only  in  free  hand  let- 
tering but  also  in  the  illustrative  or  ornamental 
patterns  on  circular  covers,  posters  or  similar  sur- 
faces. In  newspaper  advertisements  experimen- 
tation with  heavy  black  lines  for  the  novel  effect 
of  movement  and  emphasis  which  they  can  create 
is  well  worth  study. 

Margins.  The  margin  as  a  color  note  may  in- 
jure the  effect  of  a  circular  booklet  well  designed 
in  every  other  respect.  In  a  given  case  a  very 
elaborate  and  beautifully  printed  circular  lost 
much  in  agreeableness  through  a  quarter  inch 
margin  on  a  ten  by  twelve  page.  In  character- 
istic enough  fashion,  every  thought  had  been  given 
to  rich  stock,  the  most  expensive  type,  the  choicest 
colors.  No  expense  had  been  spared,  and  then  one 
little  error  in  the  design  gave  a  crowded,  nig- 
gardly appearance  to  the  page.  It  was  not  only 
that  the  balance  of  black  and  white  was  destroyed 
by  the  small  margin,  but  the  sense  of  amplitude 
and  spaciousness  which  a  less  crowded  page  would 
have  given  was  lost. 

Applied  Ornament.  Trade  marks,  monograms 
and  similar  features  of  circulars  and  general  ad- 
vertising may  if  distinctive  in  design  and  color 
help  to  fix  a  name  upon  the  memory.  A  truly  dis- 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  169 

tinctive  color  note  in  such  an  ornament  is  a  great 
asset  in  arousing  and  holding  attention.  Here 
again  it  is  not  only  the  color  itself  but  the  exact 
spotting  and  proportion  with  reference  to  the  page 
which  must  be  carefully  considered.  Place  the 
printed  matter  a  quarter  inch  too  low  or  a  quarter 
inch  too  high,  let  it  be  a  square  inch  more  or  less 
out  of  the  way  and  color  balance  as  well  as  color 
proportion  are  destroyed. 

The  Time  Exposure.  In  the  chapter  on  an- 
alogous and  contrasting  colors  some  aspects  of 
color  in  business  are  considered.  The  important 
bearing  of  time  exposure,  and  of  associations  of 
mood  on  the  choice  of  color  schemes  is  pointed 
out.  A  circular  though  it  should  possess  the  qual- 
ity of  * '  arrest ' '  making  an  immediate  challenge  to 
attention,  is  also  frequently  intended  to  be  kept 
handy  for  reference.  The  extreme  contrast 
proper  to  the  country  side  poster  glimpsed  from 
passing  trains,  is  not  appropriate  to  the  leaflet  or 
booklet  meant  to  remain  upon  milady 's  desk.  For 
such  exposure  the  contrasts  must  be  such  as  com- 
bine restraint,  refinement  and  subtlety  with  nov- 
elty. 

Color  Mood  in  Posters.  A  circular  so  exposed 
must  on  that  account  be  planned  with  every  pos- 
sible regard  not  only  for  interest  and  agreeable- 
ness  in  a  general  sense,  but  more  specifically  for 
definite  associations  with  the  goods  advertised. 
It  has  been  pointed  out  that  in  many  cases  the 
attempt  to  attain  color  mood  may  endanger  that 


170  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

contrast  which  is  essential  to  interest.  A  poster 
for  perfumery  in  a  given  case,  may  suggest  sub- 
tlety of  fragrance,  but  the  delicate  and  subtle 
tints  of  the  poster  might  fail  to  catch  or  hold  at- 
tention. The  solution  may  lie  partly  in  the  nov- 
elty of  the  colors,  of  their  combination  or  in  the 
novelty  of  movement  in  their  lines  and  masses. 
A  spotting  of  delicate  colors  on  a  black  or  dark 
gray  ground  will  combine  force  and  carrying 
power  with  the  suggestion  of  fragrance. 

Real  Estate  and  Color.  The  owner  of  build- 
ings has  many  color  problems  to  face.  In  the  first 
place  the  building  itself  in  its  facade,  its  entrance, 
its  halls,  elevator  and  stairways  may  look  many 
times  more  inviting  and  be  just  so  much  more  prof- 
itable through  the  tasteful  application  of  color. 
There  is  no  need  for  specific  advice  as  to  the  exact 
color  scheme  for  the  exterior,  or  the  interior  halls. 
A  study  of  the  earlier  chapters  and  the  chapter  on 
color  mood  will  make  clear  the  principal  points  of 
color  contrast  and  variety,  color  mood  and  warmth 
of  effect  which  are  important.  Plants  and  deco- 
rative accessories,  such  as  curtains,  rugs,  painted 
upholstered  or  cretonne  covered  settees;  the  sug- 
gestion of  hospitality  warmth,  sumptuousness ; 
the  careful  avoidance  of  darkness,  coldness  or  ir- 
ritating hotness  in  color  are  points  to  be  remem- 
bered. 

In  the  planning  of  the  apartments  the  builder 
should  seek  the  maximum  quality  of  distinction 
in  textures  of  wood  and  in  lighting  fixtures,  which 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  171 

the  budget  permits.  The  proportion  and  plac- 
ing of  windows,  doors,  mantels,  shelves  and 
closets  are  most  important  considerations  and  are 
color  problems,  affecting  as  they  do  the  propor- 
tion in  space  divisions.  In  a  new  building  of 
fine  textures  in  wood  work,  it  might  be  wise  to 
leave  the  woodwork  unstained,  offering  the  co- 
operation of  the  decorator  to  supply  any  stain  de- 
sired to  fit  in  with  the  general  scheme  planned  by 
the  prospective  tenant.  A  feature  like  this  makes 
a  good  talking  point  for  an  operator. 

In  large  cities  problems  face  the  real  estate 
owner  which  should  be  met  by  neighborhood  asso- 
ciations of  owners  cooperating  for  given  ends. 
One  of  these  is  the  problem  of  neighborhood  de- 
terioration through  the  infiltration  of  cheap  stores 
with  cheap  interiors  and  cheap  window  display. 
It  takes  only  two  or  three  such  stores  to  cheapen  a 
whole  block ;  a  few  dozen  can  ruin  a  neighborhood 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  maintenance  of  a 
high  quality  of  attractiveness  as  a  residential  sec- 
tion. This  influences  property  values.  The  prob- 
lem can  be  met  cooperatively  by  a  pledge  on  the 
part  of  each  of  the  owners  to  insert  a  contract 
clause  concerning  the  maintenance  of  decent  win- 
dow standards;  or  still  better  (since  storekeepers 
might  fear  such  a  clause)  by  engaging  out  of  a 
common  fund  an  adviser  on  window  standards  to 
give  certain  elementary  guidance  to  those  shops 
which  seemed  in  need  of  it. 

Still  another  color  problem  which  faces  some 


172  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

owners  collectively  is  that  of  the  handicap  they 
are  under  in  renting  their  stores  because  they  are 
on  the  off  side  of  the  street.  This  could  be  met 
by  a  cooperative  effort  to  offset  the  handicap  by 
the  poster  treatment  of  the  window  frame,  by 
service  to  the  whole  row  of  stores  in  the  choice  of 
more  colorful  and  richly  attractive  signs,  potted 
plants  and  even  expert  advice  as  to  poster  effects 
in  window  treatment.  It  is  an  experiment  well 
worth  trying  and  if  successful  would  be  very  prof- 
itable in  steadier  and  even  higher  rentals. 

One  further  suggestion,  the  most  radical  of  all 
is  that  in  extending  building  operations  into  areas 
well  covered  with  fine  trees,  it  might  be  possible 
for  some  agreement  as  to  a  plan  of  lay  out  for  the 
section,  to  be  made  in  cooperation  with  the  city, 
which  would  preserve  something  of  the  color  and 
flavor  of  a  country  lane.  This  might  be  accom- 
plished by  abandoning  the  cut  and  dried  arrange- 
ment of  streets  at  right  angles ; — and  pooling  in- 
terests to  evolve  some  small  unit  which  will 
combine  picturesqueness  with  practical  thorough- 
fare, without  sacrificing  building  ground.  But 
this  it  must  be  granted  is  likely  to  sound  quite 
visionary  in  the  present  paucity  of  cooperative 
effort. 

The  Morality  of  the  Color  Appeal  in  Business. 
Eecently  it  has  come  to  the  author's  notice  that 
there  are  writers  on  economics  as  well  as  profes- 
sors of  "social  science "  who  sneer  at  advertising 
as  something  essentially  immoral  and  connected 


COLOR  IN  BUSINESS  173 

with  social  waste.  They  point  out  that  false  de- 
mands, unwholesome  cravings,  the  desire  for 
foods,  drinks  and  amusements  which  are  unneces- 
sary are  stimulated  by  advertising.  To  such  men, 
the  suggestion  that  the  appeal  of  color  and  design 
should  be  still  more  subtly  and  powerfully  em- 
ployed as  an  advertising  adjunct  must  seem  like  a 
plea  for  the  devil. 

In  the  first  place  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  there 
is  just  as  good  ground  for  an  indictment  against 
the  mind  itself  because  of  its  frequent  employment 
for  unworthy  ends.  It  may  be  true  that  adver- 
tising through  the  appeal  of  copy  and  of  color  can 
promote  the  craving  for  toasted  sponge  to  the 
point  where  this  becomes  a  national  dish.  But 
that  fact,  if  it  is  a  fact,  would  only  prove  the  power 
of  color  and  advertising  rather  than  the  inherent 
evil  of  either.  In  the  second  place,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  most  desirable  of  modern 
innovations  from  new  sanitary  devices  in  the 
home  to  a  new  engine  would  be  prohibitive  in 
cost  if  it  were  not  that  advertising  creates  the 
large  market  which  permits  of  cheap  production. 
The  symphony  concert  and  the  opera  are  made 
democratic  institutions  only  through  the  advertis- 
ing which  brings  an  army  to  their  support  and 
therefore  brings  the  prices  within  reach  of  every 
one  in  that  army. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

THE  PHYSICS  OF  COLOR  AND  COLOR 
PRINCIPLES 

The  Source  of  Color.  As  the  light  of  day  fades, 
colors  grow  grayer  and  grayer.  If  every  source 
of  light  disappeared  from  the  world,  colors  would 
disappear  too  and  the  world  would  become  black. 
For  light  is  the  source  of  color,  and  all  the  colors 
exist  in  the  light  which  radiates  from  the  sun  or 
from  any  other  luminous  body.  It  is  through  the 
decomposition  or  breaking  up  of  this  light  that  the 
colors  which  reside  in  it  are  discovered.  The  rain- 
bow with  its  beautiful  colors  is  the  result  of  the 
breaking  up  of  the  light  which  radiates  from  the 
sun,  through  the  action  of  raindrops  serving  as 
crystals.  The  nature  of  this  action  will  be  better 
understood,  however,  if  a  single  crystal  glass,  of 
the  kind  used  as  pendants  on  chandeliers,  is  held 
against  a  brilliantly  lighted  white  sheet.  The 
light  in  passing  through  the  crystal  will  be  broken 
up  and  a  colored  band  similar  to  a  rainbow  will  ap- 
pear. This  band  of  colors,  is  called  a  spectrum. 
The  colors  in  the  spectrum  of  the  sun  can  be  re- 
membered by  means  of  the  word  VIBGrYOR,  vio- 
let, indigo,  blue,  green,  yellow,  orange,  red. 

174 


THE  PHYSICS  OF  COLOR  175 

The  Wave  Theory.  The  Transmission  of  Color 
Through  Space.  The  light  which  is  the  source  of 
these  colors  travels  from  the  sun  through  space  in 
the  form  of  waves.  The  trip  from  the  sun  to  that 
crystal  glass  is  made  in  about  five  hundred  seconds 
at  about  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
thousand  miles  a  second.  Light-waves  one  sixty- 
one  thousandth  of  an  inch  in  length  create  the  sen- 
sation of  violet.  Wave  lengths  one  thirty-six 
thousandth  of  an  inch  give  rise  to  the  sensation 
of  red.  These  wave  lengths,  corresponding  in  a 
manner  to  the  distance  from  crest  to  crest  in  a 
wave  of  water,  run  into  the  hundreds  of  billions 
per  second.  The  white  light,  which  is  the  product 
of  the  waves  radiating  from  the  sun  was  broken 
up  by  the  crystal  into  its  component  sets  of  waves. 

Retinal  Activity  and  Limitations.  But  there 
are  waves  longer  than  one  thirty-six  thousandth 
of  an  inch  and  waves  shorter  than  one  sixty-one 
thousandth  of  an  inch.  These,  however,  are  not 
known  to  us  as  color,  because  the  retina  in  its  com- 
position seems  to  be  unable  to  respond  to  waves 
shorter  than  violet  waves  or  longer  than  red 
waves.  All  wave  lengths  longer  than  thirty-six 
thousand  to  the  inch,  or  shorter  than  sixty-one 
thousand  to  the  inch  are  invisible.  Our  knowledge 
of  the  infra-red  rays  and  ultra-violet  rays  has, 
therefore,  come  to  us  through  other  sources. 

The  limitation  of  retinal  sensitivity  to  wave 
lengths  determines  the  range  of  the  rainbow  and 
of  our  color  perception.  The  rainbow  would  be 


176  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

much  wider  and  reveal  more  colors  to  the  eye  if 
it  were  not  for  this  limitation. 

Non-Luminous  Bodies.  Luminous  bodies  radi- 
ating light  are  the  source  of  color.  But  it  is  non- 
luminous  bodies  reflecting  light  which  are  the  prin- 
cipal concern  of  the  student  of  color  harmony. 
The  rose,  the  dress,  the  table,  the  multi-colored 
poster,  these  do  not  generate  light  and  so  they  are 
called  non-luminous.  If  there  were  no  luminous 
bodies  in  the  world  these  non-luminous  objects 
would  be  invisible.  They  become  visible  through 
the  fact  that  they  reflect  more  or  less  of  the  light 
which  strikes  them.  It  is  now  necessary  to  ac- 
count for  the  different  colors  of  non-luminous 
bodies,  as,  for  example,  the  red  of  the  rose  and 
the  green  of  its  leaves. 

The  Redness  of  the  Rose.  The  rose  is  visible 
only  through  the  light  which  it  reflects.  In  total 
darkness  it  would  be  invisible.  In  daylight,  if  it 
reflected  all  the  light  which  it  receives,  it  would 
be  white.  But  the  rose  reflects  only  a  part  of  the 
light  and  absorbs  the  rest.  We  speak  of  the  rose 
as  red  because  it  has  no  affinity  for  red  and  there- 
fore throws  off  the  red  rays  in  the  light  which 
strikes  it.  If  there  were  no  red  in  the  light  which 
illumines  the  rose  it  would  seem  black.  To  prove 
this,  put  salt  in  alcohol  and  set  fire  to  the  alcohol. 
The  flame  will  be  a  yellow  flame  containing  no  red, 
and  the  rose  illuminated  by  that  flame  will  conse- 
quently appear  black.  The  color  of  any  non-lumi- 
nous object,  then,  is  due  to  that  part  of  the  light 


THE  PHYSICS  OF  COLOR  177 

which  is  reflected  from  it.  If  all  the  light  were 
reflected  it  would  be  white. 

The  Retina  and  the  Physiological  Basis  of 
Color.  The  eye  is  a  camera  equipped  with  an  ad- 
justable lens  and  a  shutter.  The  iris  which  acts 
as  the  shutter  is  an  adjustable  diaphragm  which 
can  reduce  the  size  of  the  pupil  in  sunlight  or  in- 
crease its  size  in  the  dark,  thus  controlling  the 
amount  of  light  received.  Man-made  cameras 
need  considerable  manipulation  in  focussing.  But 
the  lens  of  the  eye  is  self-adjusting.  It  grows 
thicker  for  short  focus  and  flattens  out  for  longer 
ranges.  The  red  rays  of  light  from  the  rose  pass 
through  the  cornea,  the  lens,  and  the  humors  of  the 
eye,  finally  to  impinge  upon  the  retina  which  cor- 
responds to  the  sensitive  plate  in  the  camera. 

Retinal  Nerve  Endings — Rods  for  Light. 
Cones  for  Light  and  Color.  The  retina,  physiol- 
ogists inform  us,  is  a  surface  presenting  two 
kinds  of  nerve  endings  sensitive  to  the  rays  of 
light  which  enter  the  eye.  These  are  called  rods 
and  cones.  There  are  approximately  seven  mil- 
lion cones  and  thirty  million  rods.  The  rods,  it 
is  claimed,  are  sensitive  to  the  light  waves  only  as 
light  and  dark,  without  hue.  The  cones  are  sensi- 
tive to  the  various  wave  lengths  both  as  light  and 
as  differentiated  colors.  When  the  red  rays  enter 
the  eye,  the  rods  are  sensitive  to  them  only  as 
light,  and  without  the  action  of  the  cones  no  color 
sensation  would  be  experienced.  But  there  are 
cones  especially  sensitive  to  red,  which  are  stimu- 


178  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

lated  by  the  waves  which  the  rose  did  not  absorb. 
This  stimulation  is  interpreted  by  the  mind  as  red. 
In  an  eye  deficient  in  active  cones  sensitized  to 
red,  the  rose  would  not  be  seen  as  we  see  it. 

Color-Blindness.  In  1874  a  fatal  railway  acci- 
dent in  Switzerland  proved,  on  investigation,  to 
be  due  to  color-blindness  on  the  part  of  one  of  the 
operators.  The  facts  of  color  blindness  had  re- 
ceived attention  since  1774  when  Dalton,  a  Quaker 
chemist,  innocent  of  any  desire  to  shock  or  offend, 
attended  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
scarlet  hose,  which  he  in  his  retinal  deficiency 
thought  gray.  But  it  was  the  railway  accident 
which  led  to  a  more  thorough  investigation. 

Total  color-blindness  would  be  due  to  a  failure 
of  the  cones  to  register  or  differentiate  colors  as 
colors,  although  retaining  the  sensitiveness  to  light 
which  they  share  with  the  rods.  To  a  totally 
color-blind  person  then,  the  world  is  a  place  ab- 
solutely without  hue,  in  which  things  are  differ- 
entiated from  one  another  only  through  their  va- 
riations in  degree  of  dark  and  light.  Black  and 
white  photography  may  serve  to  give  one  an  idea 
of  the  appearance  of  the  world  to  the  totally  color- 
blind. The  translation  of  hues  into  black  and 
white  values,  which  the  pen  and  ink  draughtsman 
accomplishes  with  deliberation,  the  color-blind  eye 
.automatically  achieves  just  as  does  the  photo- 
graphic plate.  Total  color-blindness,  however,  is 
very  rare. 

Whatever  the  explanation  of  retinal  sensitivity 


THE  PHYSICS  OP  COLOR  179 

to  color,  it  appears  that  there  must  be  either  dis- 
tinct nerve  endings  for  given  hues  or  distinct  sub- 
stances in  the  cones  which  are  acted  upon  differ- 
ently by  the  different  chromatic  rays.  According 
to  Dr.  Ayres,  in  an  interesting  article  on  "Color- 
Blindness":  "If  one  thousand  men  gaze  at  a  gar- 
den of  flowers,  fifty  of  them  will  see  the  colors 
falsely.  If  one  thousand  women  view  them,  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-six  or  seven  will  perceive  the 
hues  correctly."  Of  those  fifty-three  or  fifty-four 
men  and  women,  a  few  will  be  blind  to  red,  a  few 
will  be  blind  to  green,  the  remainder  will  be  blind 
to  both  red  and  green.  The  statistics  for  color- 
blindness vary  considerably  in  the  writings  of  the 
experts  on  this  subject. 

Scientific  means  have  been  devised  for  testing 
color-blindness.  Colored  silks  are  used  for  this 
purpose.  The  subject  is  requested  to  assort  these 
into  classified  piles,  putting  together  all  colors  of 
the  same  hue.  The  errors  made  by  the  color-blind 
seem  almost  incredible  to  one  who  has  never  been 
told  of  the  existence  of  this  peculiar  phenomenon. 

The  Mental  Phase  of  Color.  The  Psychology  of 
Color.  The  study  of  the  origin  of  color  in  light, 
of  the  transmission  of  color  waves,  of  their  ab- 
sorption and  reflection  by  objects,  belongs  to 
physics.  The  study  of  the  action  of  color  waves 
upon  the  retina  belongs  to  physiology.  But  there 
is  a  third  very  important  phase  of  color  study 
which  has  been  receiving  considerable  attention  in 
recent  years.  It  is  the  study  of  the  mental  re- 


180  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

action  to  color  impressions.  Color  may  be  seen 
with  the  eyes  closed  and  no  light  stimulating  the 
retina;  or  the  eye  looking  at  one  color  may  see 
another,  or  the  eye  looking  at  two  colors  side  by 
side  may  get  a  different  impression  from  each 
than  if  the  same  two  colors  were  more  widely  sep- 
arated. These  are  a  few  of  the  phenomena 
studied  by  the  psychologist. 

Subjective  Color.  Seeing  "Stars."  Visions. 
Color  may  be  seen  where  there  is  no  color.  Let 
the  reader  press  his  fingers  against  his  closed 
eyes,  so  that  the  pressure  will  be  transmitted  to 
the  optic  nerve.  The  darkness  will  be  broken  by 
a  colored  spotting,  more  or  less  kaleidoscopic  in 
character.  The  expression  "seeing  stars"  which 
describes  the  effect  of  a  blow  upon  the  eye,  refers 
to  the  same  type  of  subjective  image.  In  fever, 
the  blood  pressure,  exciting  the  visual  center  of 
the  brain,  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner  causes 
distorted  images  and  sometimes  gives  rise  to  pow- 
erful impressions  of  colored  light.  These  latter 
the  fevered  brain  may  interpret  as  visions,  angels, 
or  special  manifestations  of  providential  interest. 

After-images  and  Successive  Contrast.  If  one 
looks  directly  at  the  yellow  sun  for  a  moment  and 
then  closes  the  eyes,  an  intensely  bluish  spot  will 
float  about,  will  fade  away,  and  then  will  reappear. 
It  will  grow  lighter  and  then  grow  darker,  but  it 
will  persist  for  some  time.  This  after-image  may 
be  due  to  the  over-irritation  of  the  cones  sensitive 
to  yellow,  resulting  in  their  fatigue.  This  would 


THE  PHYSICS  OF  COLOR  181 

leave  only  the  remaining  cones  sensitive.  This 
experiment  may  be  varied.  If  after  looking  at  the 
sun  one  looks  away  at  some  other  part  of  the  sky, 
a  pale  blue  sun  will  appear.  As  the  last  sentence 
was  written  the  end  of  the  author's  pen  and  each 
letter  as  it  flowed  from  its  point  were  surrounded 
by  a  bluish  halo,  because  he  had  just  stepped  out 
upon  a  balcony  to  renew  the  above-mentioned 
experiment.  The  blue  sun  which  he  saw  against 
the  sky  persisted  for  a  long  enough  time  to  be 
projected  against  the  page  upon  which  he  was 
writing. 

Retinal  Exhaustion  Through  Intensity  of  Light. 
It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  retina  is  very  quickly 
exhausted  through  exposure  to  powerful  light. 
The  area  over-stimulated  by  the  color  of  that  light 
will  then  respond  only  to  the  remaining  color 
waves.  If  the  reader  after  looking  for  a  time  at 
a  very  bright  red  object  held  in  the  sun  will  then 
look  into  a  mirror,  he  will  see  his  own  face  ap- 
parently green,  owing  to  the  temporary  exhaus- 
tion of  the  red  sensitive  cones,  which  fail  to  re- 
spond to  the  reds  in  his  face. 

Retinal  Exhaustion  Through  Over-Exposure 
to  One  Color.  Even  in  a  reduced  light  the  eye  is 
subject  to  retinal  exhaustion,  particularly  if  ex- 
posed to  a  single  color  for  some  time.  The  eye 
looking  at  a  red  disc  upon  a  white  page  will  soon 
see  a  fringe  of  blue  green  around  the  edge  of  the 
red,  or  if  it  shifts  to  a  blank  space  a  circle  of  blue 
green  will  appear.  This  can  be  demonstrated  with 


182  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

one  of  the  colored  papers  in  the  pocket  of  this 
book.  The  experiment  can  be  repeated  with  a 
number  of  different  colors.  This  phenomenon  is 
known  as  successive  contrast.  A  knowing  sales- 
man in  displaying  a  series  of  reds,  if  eager  to  sell 
the  reds  for  their  brilliance,  will  offset  this  ex- 
haustion by  interposing  grays  or  greens. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  of  Colors.  The  action 
of  two  juxtaposed  colors  upon  one  another  through 
simultaneous  contrast  is,  from  the  viewpoint  of 
practical  applications,  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant color  phenomena.  Experiment  will  demon- 
strate that  a  red  looks  more  intensely  red  along- 
side of  blue-green  than  alongside  of  yellow  or 
orange.  This  cannot  be  explained  on  the  basis  of 
retinal  exhaustion  or  of  eye  movements,  for  even 
at  the  very  first  glance  the  colors  show  up  brighter 
when  juxtaposed  than  when  separated.  A  given 
gray  will  look  darker  against  white  than  will  the 
same  gray  against  black.  This  may  be  due  to  illu- 
sion and  mistaken  mental  judgment.  Although 
the  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  may  well  be 
left  for  the  psychological  experimenter  to  investi- 
gate, its  practical  applications  are  most  important. 

Color  Harmony.  Color  has  the  power  singly 
or  in  combinations  either  to  irritate  and  exhaust 
the  retina,  or  agreeably  to  stimulate  the  eye. 
Colors  which,  when  combined,  have  the  effect  of 
pleasing  the  eye  are  said  to  be  harmonious.  While 
there  is  no  absolute  analogy  between  the  two,  color 


THE  PHYSICS  OF  COLOR  18$ 

tones  may  combine  in  optic  chords  as  tones  of 
sound  combine  in  musical  chords. 

We  have  no  basis  for  a  mathematical  theory  of 
color  chords,  based  upon  a  progressive  scale  of 
wave  lengths  and  vibrations  built  upon  a  ratio, 
such  as  is  known  to  music.  Whatever  physiologi- 
cal and  physical  basis  there  is  for  the  study  of 
color  harmony  rests  rather  upon  the  facts  of  ret- 
inal exhaustion,  the  need  of  balanced  retinal  stim- 
ulation, the  phenomena  of  contrast,  simultaneous 
and  successive.  To  these  in  application  however 
must  be  added  the  principles  of  rhythm,  balance, 
proportion  and  fitness  present  in  all  the  arts. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR 

Hue,  Value  and  Intensity.  Knowing  What  to 
Look  For.  An  artist  who  turns  up  a  stone  near  a 
river's  edge,  no  matter  how  well  trained  his  eye, 
will  miss  a  thousand  details  clear  to  the  specialist 
in  bugs  and  plant  forms.  The  scientist  walking 
through  the  woods  will  be  blind  to  the  almost  end- 
less variety  of  color  tones  which  are  clearly  differ- 
entiated to  the  eye  of  the  painter.  In  each  case, 
if  one  is  to  see,  one  must  learn  what  to  look  for. 

For  a  worker  who  wishes  to  use  color  in  plan- 
ning color  harmonies  or  to  observe  color  with  a 
nicer  sensibility  for  its  subtleties,  it  is  an  asset  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  simple  attributes  and 
properties  of  color.  Most  people  think  of  the  sky 
as  blue,  of  fields  as  green,  of  the  rose  as  red,  of 
a  girl  as  a  blonde  or  a  brunette, — in  each  case  as 
of  so  many  absolutes.  The  great  variety  of  blues 
in  the  sky,  of  reds  in  the  rose,  of  flesh  tones  in  the 
blonde  or  brunette  are  scarcely  observed  by  the 
person  who  thinks  of  color  unaware  of  its  modifi- 
cations. The  variety  of  possible  harmonies  in 
dress,  home,  window  display  and  posters  will  not 
be  suspected  by  the  person  who  wishes  to  know 
" whether  blue  goes  well  with  red."  Just  as  peo- 

184 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      185 

pie  seldom  think  clearly  when  they  have  not  the 
vocabulary  of  their  subject,  so  people  seldom  see 
or  plan  color  clearly,  when  they  do  not  understand 
the  threefold  aspect  of  color. 

The  Color  Cube.  It  will  be  a  help  to  color  ob- 
servation if  the  reader  thinks  of  color  as  in  a  sense 
three  dimensional.  Though  the  analogy  is  not 
perfect,  yet  if  we  think  of  redness  as  a  cube,  we 
can  arrive  at  a  simple  conception  of  the  threefold 
aspect  of  color.  The  redness  which  permeates  the 
whole  cube  is  its  hue.  But  this  cube  lighted  from 
above  may  be  conceived  as  growing  progressively 
darker  from  top  to  bottom.  The  gradations  of 
light  and  dark  in  the  red  are  called  values.  The 
cube  may  be  very  bright  in  the  front  plane  but 
it  may  grow  progressively  duller  and  duller,  less 
and  less  pure  in  its  redness,  towards  the  rear 
plane.  This  variation  of  purity  is  called  inten- 
sity. 

A  given  color  is  defined,  then,  by  stating  not 
only  its  hue  or  quality,  but  also  its  value  or  degree 
of  light,  and  its  intensity  or  degree  of  purity.  In 
proportion  as  one  learns  to  see  colors  in  their 
three  dimensions  one  can  train  color  observation 
and  memory.  In  proportion  as  one  plans  color 
schemes  with  thought  for  the  notation  of  the  hue, 
value  and  intensity  of  each  of  the  colors  employed 
one  can  learn  to  estimate  color  combinations. 

The  Color-Sensitive  Painter  and  His  Instructor. 
It  is  recorded  about  Chavannes,  one  of  the  great- 
est of  modern  mural  painters,  that  while  still  an 


186  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

art  student  he  was  engaged  one  afternoon  in  care- 
fully painting  the  flesh  tone  of  a  model,  influenced 
as  that  tone  was  by  the  exact  quality  and  quantity 
of  the  light  which  shone  in  through  the  studio  top- 
light  upon  her  body.  Couture,  his  instructor,  en- 
tered and  taking  the  brushes  and  palette  from 
Chavannes  quickly  mixed  his  favorite  formula,  the 
few  colors  which  gave  him  his  standard  flesh  color. 
This  he  painted  directly  over  the  sensitive  color 
tones  in  the  study  of  Chavannes.  That  day  Cha- 
vannes deserted  the  art  school.  Chavannes  was 
sensitive  to  the  varying  character  of  color;  Cou- 
ture was  not. 

An  Art  Critic's  Question:  "What  is  Value?" 
An  acquaintance,  who  occasionally  writes  essays 
in  art  criticism,  approached  the  author  one  day 
at  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  with  the  ques- 
tion, "What  is  value V9  As  the  theory  of  im- 
pressionism in  figure  painting  and  even  in  land- 
scape painting  is  based  almost  entirely  on  an  ap- 
preciation of  value,  this  was  an  exceptionally  good 
example  of  the  lack  of  elementary  color  training 
even  on  the  part  of  those  who  turn  to  fields  where 
a  knowledge  of  color  may  well  be  considered  in- 
dispensable. 

Hue  Defined.  A  Synonym  for  Color.  Hue  is 
practically  a  synonym  for  color.  Eed  is  one  hue, 
blue  is  another.  Eed  and  blue  differ  in  hue, 
though  a  given  red  and  a  given  blue  may  be  equal 
in  value  and  intensity.  Hue  refers  to  the  quality 
of  color  and  not  to  its  quantity.  Thus  blue  is  blue 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      187 

whether  lighter  or  darker,  purer  or  grayer.  Its 
blueness  is  its  hue,  which  remains  unaltered  no 
matter  how  its  other  attributes  change.  If  its  hue 
changed  it  would  be  changed  in  its  fundamental 
quality  and  no  longer  be  itself,  blue.  Aubert,  a 
physicist,  figured  out  experimentally  that  the  eye 
is  sensitive  to  one  thousand  distmct  hues  in  the 
spectrum. 

Value  Defined.  The  Quantity  of  Light  in 
Color.  How  may  blue,  while  still  remaining  blue, 
change  in  valued  Value  is  a  quantitative  word. 
It  does  not  refer  to  the  amount  of  blue  in  the  blue 
color  but  to  its  luminosity,  the  amount  of  light  re- 
flected by  it. 

To  make  this  clearer,  imagine  a  blue  ceiling  in 
a  room.  The  ceiling  reflects  a  certain  amount  of 
light.  Pull  down  one  shade.  Less  light  strikes 
the  ceiling  and,  consequently,  the  ceiling  reflects 
less  light.  The  blue  has  grown  darker  or  lower  in 
value.  If  a  second  shade  is  pulled  down,  the  blue 
grows  still  darker.  Shut  out  almost  all  of  the 
light,  and  the  blue  becomes  almost  black.  Now, 
if  a  powerful  artificial  light  is  turned  on,  the  blue 
becomes  higher  in  value  than  it  was  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  experiment.  Receiving  more  light,  it 
reflects  more  light.  It  would  seem  from  this  then 
that  blue,  quantitatively,  may  range  from  a  blue 
which  is  almost  white  in  the  amount  of  light  it  re- 
flects to  a  blue  which  is  almost  black.  All  the 
gradations  from  the  highest  pitch  to  the  lowest 
would  be  so  many  different  values  of  blue.  The 


188  COLOR  IN  BVEEYDAY  LIFE 

value  of  a  color  may  be  defined  as  being  a  quanti- 
tative element  in  color,  expressive  of  the  amount  of 
light  which  it  reflects.  In  other  words  colors  are 
higher  or  lower  in  value  as  they  are  lighter  or 
darker. 

Two  colors  may  differ  in  hue  and  yet  be  the 
same  in  value.  When  each  color  reflects  an  equal 
amount  of  light  to  the  eye  their  values  are  equal. 
Thus  a  red  and  a  green  may  be  equally  light  or 
equally  dark,  or  in  other  words,  their  values  may 
be  equal.  Aubert  estimated  that  the  eye  can  dif- 
ferentiate at  least  one  hundred  variations  in  value 
for  any  hue. 

Intensity  or  Chroma.  The  Purity  of  a  Color. 
The  third  attribute  of  a  color  is  its  closeness  to 
spectral  purity.  Yellow  as  such  is  a  hue  because 
of  its  quality,  its  yellowness,  which  is  due  to  the 
length  of  its  waves.  Waves  of  a  different  length 
would  impress  the  retina  as  blue  or  red  or  blue- 
green.  Of  two  yellows,  however,  one  may  be  dark 
and  the  other  light,  because  one  receives  much 
light  and  the  other  receives  little.  This  difference 
in  amount  of  light  received  would  constitute  a  dif- 
ference in  value.  But  two  yellows  equally  light 
or  equally  dark  might  yet  differ  in  a  third  at- 
tribute. One  might  seem  pure  even  though 
dark;  the  other  dull  and  gray,  even  though  light. 
The  greens  or  blues  of  the  distant  hills  grow 
grayer  as  the  air  grows  misty  and  laden  with  gray 
vapors.  The  mist  may  make  them  lighter  or 
higher  in  value,  or  it  may  leave  their  value  un- 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      189 

changed,  but  the  intensity  or  purity  of  the  blues 
and  greens  will  be  reduced  by  the  mixture  of  for- 
eign wave  lengths,  in  other  words,  by  the  mixture 
of  the  color  of  the  mist.  In  the  same  way  the 
reader  can  gray  colors  by  mixing  them  with  their 
complementaries. 

What  seems  very  difficult  for  most  people  to 
grasp  about  intensity  in  colors  is  that  it  is  a  qual- 
ity quite  independent  of  value. 

Colors  can  grow  grayer  or  purer  without  grow- 
ing lighter  or  darker.  Thus  a  given  pale  tint  of 
blue  may  be  very  shrill  and  intense  in  spite  of  its 
paleness  or  it  may  be  quite  gray  with  only  a  faint 
tinge  of  blue  in  it.1  A  blue  goods  may  fade  or 
grow  grayer  without  growing  lighter  or  darker. 

Value  in  Grays.  To  understand  value  and  pur- 
ity in  colors  still  better,  let  us  begin  simply  by  a 
study  of  value  in  grays.  A  value  scale  of  grays 
running  from  white  to  black  would  enable  us  to 
appreciate  the  meaning  of  value,  free,  for  the 
time  being,  from  the  element  of  hue  and  intensity. 
A  white  wall,  a  white  handkerchief,  a  white  rose  is 
as  dependent  for  its  value  upon  the  amount  of 
light  received  as  was  the  blue  ceiling  in  the  illus- 
tration given.  With  decreasing  light  that  white 
wall  will  grow  lower  and  lower  in  value  until  black 
is  reached.  Although  it  may  pass  in  this  way 
through  a  thousand  shades  of  gray,  we  shall  limit 
ourselves  to  ten  steps  between  white  and  black. 
White  represents  the  highest  value,  the  maximum 

i  See  colored  slips. 


190  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

of  light.  Black  represents  the  lowest  value,  abso- 
lute absence  of  light.  A  pure  black,  however, 
exists  only  theoretically. 

Gradation  of  Grays  in  a  Rainy-Day  Sky.  The 
wonderful  variety  of  grays,  and  the  pleasure  which 
is  derived  from  their  subtle  gradation  can  best  be 
realized  on  a  wet  gray  day  when  the  sky  is  over- 
cast with  clouds.  Observe  the  clouds  carefully, 
and  though  at  first  glance  you  see  "just  gray 
clouds ' '  further  study  reveals  the  most  subtle  pas- 
sages of  gray,  gently  modulating  into  one  another. 
And  this  great  optic  melody  of  subtly  graded 
values,  which  the  sky  presents  on  such  days,  has 
some  advantages  over  music  in  the  possibilities  of 
enjoyment  which  it  affords.  In  violin  music  the 
gradation  of  vibration  in  the  long  sustained  note 
which  swells  in  volume,  although  it  is  the  aural 
equivalent  of  color  gradation,  is  a  sensation  in 
time.  The  optic  melody  of  graduated  grays  which 
may  with  slight  changes  remain  in  the  field  of  ap- 
preciation for  hours,  exists  in  space  as  well  as  time 
and  can  be  observed  and  felt  in  any  direction 
which  the  eye  may  choose  to  follow.  In  other 
words  value  in  music  is  conceived  in  time ;  in  color 
it  resides  in  space  and  time.  In  each  case  the 
gradations  of  value  may  be  the  source  of  keen 
aesthetic  pleasure. 

Spectrum  Value  Scale.  Varying  Values  of 
Pure  Colors.  When  we  observe  the  spectrum 
colors  at  their  maximum  intensity  we  find  that  they 
differ  in  value.  The  squares  upon  a  black  and 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      191 

white  checker-board  receive  an  equal  illumination. 
The  white  squares  reflect  all  of  the  light  they  re- 
ceive. The  blacks  theoretically  throw  back  none 
of  the  light  they  receive,  (actually  they  do  throw 
off  some  light  and  therefore  are  not  truly  black). 
Just  as  those  white  and  black  squares  exhibit  an 
extreme  contrast  of  value  although  receiving  equal 
illumination,  so  spectrum  yellows  and  blues  have 
different  values  though  equally  lighted.  Pure 
yellow  as  found  in  the  spectrum  is  almost  white 
in  value.  Pure  blue  is  nearer  black  in  value. 

If  the  colors  of  the  spectrum  are  placed  along- 
side of  the  value  scale  of  grays  from  white  to 
black  to  locate  the  place  of  each  in  that  scale,  an 
interesting  chart  will  be  secured,  one  which  will 
further  explain  the  properties  of  color.  Plate 
VIII  presents  such  a  scale  of  values  for  the 
spectrum  colors. 

Value  Gradation  in  Any  Given  Color.  Tints 
and  Shades.  We  have  seen  a  value  scale  of  grays 
showing  gradations  from  pure  white  to  black.  We 
now  learn  that  yellow  as  found  in  the  spectrum 
has  a  very  high  value.  But  our  demonstration 
with  the  ceiling  proved  that  a  color  as  found  in 
nature  or  in  art  may  vary  from  a  high  light  which 
is  almost  white  to  a  dark  blue,  which  is  almost 
black.  If  the  value  of  a  color  depends  in  part 
upon  the  amount  of  light  reflected,  then  a  lemon 
will  show  a  variety  of  yellows  from  its  high  light 
to  its  shadow  side,  and  a  flat  blue  wall  will  grow 
darker  and  darker  in  its  blues  as  it  recedes  from 


192  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  window,  just  as  a  blue  metal  pot  will  become 
so  light  in  the  sparkling  highlights  as  to  be  almost 
pure  white. 

Tints,  the  Higher  Values  of  a  Color.  The  tints 
of  any  color  are  those  values  of  it  which  approach 
white  and  which  may  be  secured  by  the  addition  of 
white  to  its  pure  spectrum  value. 

In  the  case  of  yellow  in  the  table  on  plate  VIII 
tints  are  possible,  although  the  arbitrary  series  of 
nine  steps  and  the  place  of  yellow  do  not  permit 
of  their  being  shown  upon  the  chart. 

Shades,  the  Lower  Values  of  a  Color.  The 
shades  of  any  color  are  those  values  of  it  which 
approach  black  and  which  may  be  secured  by  the 
addition  of  black  to  its  pure  spectrum  value. 

In  the  case  of  violet  in  the  same  table,  shades 
are  possible  by  the  addition  of  small  increments 
of  black. 

Value  and  Realization  of  Form.  Form  is  to  a 
large  extent  a  color  judgment  verified  by  the 
other  senses.  In  a  child  the  sense  of  form  and 
distance  develops  very  slowly.  Forms,  their 
bulk,  the  separateness  of  their  planes,  their  edges, 
their  recession  and  distance  are  only  slowly  dis- 
entangled from  the  chaos  of  impressions.  In  this 
process  the  visual  percepts  are  reenf  orced  by  tests 
and  verifications  brought  through  the  other  senses. 
We  walk  towards,  we  touch,  we  lift,  and  slowly 
learn,  first  the  existence  of  volumes  and  distances ; 
secondly  how  to  gauge  them. 

The  eye  has  been  called  the  organ  of  anticipa- 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR       193 

tory  touch.  Through  it  we  learn  to  judge  in  ad- 
vance what  sensations  objects  will  call  up  whether 
of  texture,  edge,  mass  or  distance.  What  keeps 
the  world  from  remaining  just  a  maze  of  color 
sensations  to  the  eye?  What  is  there  about  ob- 
jects that  enables  the  eye  to  distinguish  between 
them,  to  judge  that  one  object  is  spherical,  another 
cylindrical,  another  prismatic? 

Values  in  a  Cube.  Let  us  consider  a  yellow 
cube.  Ignoring  linear  perspective  we  know  with- 
out touching  it  that  it  is  a  cube,  because  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  values  vary  upon  each  of  the 
planes.  What  separates  the  object  from  its  en- 
vironment? Three  values  of  yellow  each  with  its 
characteristic  area.  Each  of  these  planes  sepa- 
rates from  the  other  again  through  a  clear  cut  dif- 
ference in  value.  It  is  the  shape  of  these  three 
planes  of  the  cube  and  the  different  values  of  each 
which  reveal  it  to  us  as  a  solid  of  flat  surfaces  at 
right  angles  to  each  other.  Only  in  a  cube,  a 
plinth,  a  prism,  only  in  an  object,  in  other  words, 
of  flat  planes  sharply  defined  one  against  the  other 
will  values  break  so  suddenly  along  a  straight 
edge. 

Values  in  a  Cone  or  Sphere.  If  we  consider  a 
colored  cone,  we  shall  observe  how  the  values  pass 
by  subtlest  gradations  through  tints  to  shades.  In 
the  sphere  the  transitions  of  tints  and  shades  from 
left  to  right  and  from  top  to  bottom  are  still  more 
subtle.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  although  an 
object  is  yellow,  actually  its  value  depends  at  each 


194  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

part  upon  the  amount  of  light  reflected  by  that 
part.  As  the  shapes  of  objects  determine  the 
angle  of  incidence  and  consequently  of  reflection 
at  each  part,  light  and  shade  furnish  the  clue  to 
the  shape  of  objects.  Of  course,  the  stereoscopic 
character  of  the  binocular  retinal  impression 
which  furnishes  the  mind  with  two  separate  and 
slightly  different  images  helps  to  give  the  feeling 
of  solidity. 

Influence  of  Reflected  Light  and  Color  on 
Values.  In  all  the  foregoing  study  of  light  and 
shade  in  cubes,  spheres  and  cylinders,  the  part 
played  by  reflection  of  colored  areas  back  into  the 
object  was  not  considered.  With  this  in  mind  the 
painting  of  a  yellow  orange  on  a  glazed  blue  plat- 
ter becomes  quite  a  problem.  The  chiaroscuro 
of  Eembrandt  becomes  useless  as  a  technical  re- 
source to  one  who  sees  shadows  as  colored  light 
filled  with  criss-crossing  compounded  hues  result- 
ing from  a  blend  of  the  color  of  the  object  and  the 
colors  reflected  into  it. 

Value,  Intensity  and  the  Sense  of  Distance. 
Values  are  a  clue  to  the  sense  of  space  and  dis- 
tance. Centuries  ago  painters  discovered  that 
linear  perspective,  with  its  converging  lines  and 
its  reduced  scale  of  the  objects  farther  removed, 
is  only  one  means  of  suggesting  distance.  An- 
other theory  called  serial  perspective  recognizes 
the  part  played  by  value  and  intensity  in  the  illu- 
sion of  distance.  Briefly  stated,  it  is  this :  objects 
lighter  than  the  atmosphere  tend  to  grow  darker 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      195 

as  they  recede ;  objects  darker  than  the  atmosphere 
tend  to  grow  lighter.  Thus  the  bright  yellow 
green  of  the  foreground  fields  grows  darker  to- 
wards the  middle  distance.  The  dark  tree  trunks 
become  lighter  and  lighter. 

But  distance  also  affects  the  purity  of  the  colors. 
As  a  rule  colors  tend  to  become  grayer  as  they  go 
back.  The  atmosphere  is  more  or  less  gray  in 
color.  This  gray  mixes  with  the  colors  of  the 
forms  in  nature  and  dulls  or  reduces  the  intensity 
of  the  yellow  green  fields,  the  warm  brown  tree 
trunks,  the  reddish  houses.  As  a  result,  these  not 
only  grow  lighter  or  darker  in  value  toward  the 
middle  ground  and  distance  but  they  also  grow 
grayer. 

Value  in  Black  and  White  Arts.  In  pencil 
drawing,  charcoal,  etching  or  engraving,  when  the 
aim  is  an  imitation  of  atmospheric  effects,  the  art- 
ist must  translate  color  values  into  black  and 
white  values.  Yellows,  reds,  blues,  or  greens  are 
here  all  grays  without  hue.  Only  through  their 
relative  values  can  hue  be  hinted  at.  So  the 
bright  yellow  fields  are  expressed  by  a  very  light 
gray,  the  deep  blue  hills  by  a  dark  gray.  Simi- 
larly, in  a  drawing  of  a  costumed  figure,  the  colors 
of  the  head  and  clothes  are  translated  into  values 
of  gray. 

The  Art  Student  and  Value.  The  great  need 
of  a  thorough  understanding  of  value  by  the  art 
student  will  be  realized  from  this  account  of  the 
experience  of  the  author  as  a  beginner  in  painting. 


196  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

He  had  been  drawing  in  charcoal  for  a  year  or 
two.  It  was  decided  that  he  might  be  permitted 
to  join  a  morning  painting  class.  Armed  with 
everything  he  needed  in  the  way  of  pigments  and 
instruments,  he  made  a  charcoal  sketch  of  the 
model  upon  his  canvas.  Then  he  loaded  his  pal- 
ette with  its  fresh  colors  and  picked  up  his  brushes 
only  to  realize  that  he  was  completely  at  sea.  He 
did  not  know  where  to  begin.  The  instructor,  an 
able  painter  but  dedicated  to  the  old  theory  of 
teaching,  namely  "  practice  and  you  will  learn, " 
showed  him  nothing,  explained  nothing,  but  said 
only,  "  Cover  your  canvas  well  and  wash  every- 
thing in  before  you  begin. ' ' 

Good  advice,  but  what  did  it  mean?  The  stu- 
dent did  not  quite  discover  the  force  of  that  advice 
for  years.  After  painting  the  head,  the  collar  and 
the  coat,  each  separately  and  carefully,  he  started 
to  paint  the  background.  As  this  happened  to  be 
a  large  sheet  of  paper,  an  unframed  outline  draw- 
ing of  the  nude  hanging  upon  the  wall,  he  painted 
it  white,  but  that  made  the  head  seem  wrong. 
He  wrestled  with  that  background  for  hours,  for 
•days  in  fact,  but  he  never  could  get  the  back- 
ground and  the  face  related. 

Why!  Because  he  was  obsessed  by  the  thought 
of  local  color  and  did  not  understand  value.  The 
white  sheet  in  back  of  the  head  may  have  re- 
flected so  little  white  as  it  hung  there  on  the  wall 
that  compared  with  the  face  it  was  very  low  in 
value. 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      197 

Value  in  Painting.  It  was  only  after  long  prac- 
tise that  the  student  came  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  his  instructor's  statement,  that  the  whole 
thing  must  be  painted  in  before  one  begins.  If 
such  a  picture  is  to  record  what  the  student  sees, 
it  will  from  the  point  of  view  of  color  be  a  chord 
of  three,  four  or  five  main  values.  The  face 
will  be  one  value,  the  collar  another,  the  coat  and 
the  hair  a  third,  the  background  a  fourth.  What- 
ever slight  and  subtle  variations  there  might  be 
within  each  of  these  can  only  be  sought  out  after 
the  values  of  the  large  masses  have  been  recorded. 
The  face,  let  us  say,  will  be  value  7,  the  back- 
ground value  4,  the  coat  and  hair  value  2,  the  col- 
lar value  8. 

Velasquez,  Vermeer,  Whistler;  Masters  of  Color 
Value.  The  position  of  Velasquez  as  "the  paint- 
er's painter  "  is  due  to  his  remarkably  keen  feeling 
for  value.  He  painted  in  color  values  sensitively 
felt,  and  so  created  the  feeling  of  light  and  atmos- 
phere falling  upon  and  being  reflected  from  the 
surfaces  he  was  painting.  Most  others  when 
compared  with  him  frequently  seem  draughtsmen, 
filling  in  flat  surfaces  with  conventional  colors; 
creating  pictures  lacking  in  air.  Whistler  was 
very  sensitive  to  color  values  and  his  criticism  of 
the  faults  of  the  prevailing  English  portrait  style 
was  well  founded.  He  pointed  out  the  fact  that 
the  head  in  a  good  portrait,  far  from  jumping  out 
of  the  canvas,  should  seem  just  as  far  back  of  the 
frame  as  the  sitter  was  in  front  of  the  painter. 


198  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

For  if  the  values  are  truly  observed,  the  head  will 
then  go  back  and  keep  its  place  as  it  does  in  the 
room  itself.  There  is  no  " flesh  tone77  as  such. 
The  face  varies  in  value  as  it  receives  and  reflects 
more  light.  Whistler,  Vermeer,  Velasquez  were 
among  those  who  keenly  appreciated  the  subtle 
gradations  of  value  to  which  color  is  subject. 

Gradation  in  Art.  "Chiaroscuro,"  Clear- 
Obscure.  Not  only  does  each  color  surface,  such 
as  a  white  wall,  vary  as  a  whole,  it  varies  also 
through  its  area.  Chiaroscuro,  as  the  name  im- 
plies, is  the  art  of  color  gradation  over  a  surface. 
Chiaro  or  clear,  oscuro  or  dark,  light-dark  is  the 
name  of  the  style  which  Rembrandt  and  the  Dutch 
masters  raised  to  such  perfection  of  technique  that 
it  enabled  them  to  invest  a  sitting-room  wall  with 
mystery,  a  cabbage  with  grandeur,  a  head  with 
a  strange  quality  of  elusiveness.  Da  Vinci's 
"Mona  Lisa"  is  an  excellent  example  of  the  sub- 
tlety of  expression  and  mood  which  is  made  pos- 
sible by  the  slow  transition  of  a  color  from  light 
to  dark.  The  famous  smile  of  this  picture  is  elu- 
sive because  it  is  painted  with  attention  to  the 
slight  variations  in  the  flesh  tones  as  they  pass 
from  the  dark  corners  of  the  lips  into  the  lights  of 
the  dark  cheek,  then  again  through  soft,  ever- 
reduced  values  into  the  depths  of  tone  in  the 
shadows  from  which  the  eyes  peer  out.  This  is 
even  truer  of  the  art  of  Rembrandt.  When  Ver- 
meer paints  the  gradation  of  value  on  the  wall  of 
a  room,  a  wall  illuminated  by  an  open  window, 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      199 

the  result  is  a  loveliness  of  mood,  obtainable  in 
no  other  manner. 

Color  Symphonies  Played  by  the  Sun.  If  the 
painter  has  been  inspired  by  the  beauty  of  the 
infinite  gradations  of  value  in  nature,  how  much 
pleasure  is  in  store  for  the  layman  who  trains  him- 
self to  observe  the  subtleties  of  color  gradation. 
Sitting  in  the  author 's  studio  one  evening,  a  friend 
and  he  gazed  through  the  open  door  across  the 
garden  at  two  slender  tree  trunks,  silhouetted 
against  the  more  distant  stone  wall.  It  was  about 
six  o'clock  on  an  evening  in  late  May.  So  ab- 
sorbed and  fascinated  were  they  by  the  beauty  of 
color  which  they  saw  in  this  modest  view  that  they 
sat  there  for  an  hour,  while  from  minute  to  minute 
with  the  fading  light  of  day  the  values,  the  intensi- 
ties, and  to  an  extent  even  the  hues  of  the  wall, 
the  trees,  and  the  vegetation  in  the  foreground 
changed.  Color  chords  more  subtle  than  the  elu- 
sive harmonies  of  a  Chopin  recorded  themselves 
there,  only  to  melt  gradually  into  other  chords 
equally  subtle,  yet  strangely  different. 

The  color  value  of  the  elements  in  the  scene  were 
constantly  changing,  not  only  in  themselves  but  in 
relation  to  one  another.  The  trees,  at  first  a  red 
violet  against  the  soft  and  darker  golden  brown 
of  the  wall,  passed  by  degrees  into  an  ashen  gray 
violet  while  the  wall  became  a  brighter  gold.  Then 
the  wall  too  became  darker,  and  as  its  golden  tone 
grew  grayer,  trees  and  wall  seemed  to  merge, 
the  trunks  barely  disengaged  from  the  wall  by  an 


200  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

almost  imperceptible  difference  in  value.  Then 
the  trunks  became  dark  and  acid-etched  against 
the  background  of  stone  which,  catching  the  last 
golden  light  of  the  setting  sun,  changed  to  a  glow- 
ing orange.  But  description  of  this  kind  is  en- 
tirely inadequate  since,  as  has  been  indicated, 
words  are  too  fixed  in  content  to  describe  the  end- 
less variety  of  the  color  chords  which  were  en- 
joyed that  evening. 

Color  Mixing.  It  may  not  be  amiss  before 
discussing  the  formal  side  of  the  study  of  color 
properties  to  enter  briefly  into  a  statement  con- 
cerning the  mixing  of  colors.  What  is  referred 
to  is  the  mixture  of  pigments  and  not  the  mixture 
of  colored  lights  known  to  the  physicist.  (See 
Plate  I.) 

The  pigment  primaries  are  colors  which  cannot 
be  obtained  by  mixture  but  which,  in  combining, 
will  yield  all  other  colors.  They  are  red,  yellow 
and  blue.  The  pigment  secondaries,  or  colors 
mixed  from  the  pigment  primaries,  are  green, 
violet  and  orange.  Green  is  obtained  by  mixing 
yellow  and  blue.  Violet  is  obtained  by  mixing 
red  and  blue.  Orange  is  obtained  by  mixing  yel- 
low and  red. 

Between  any  two  spectrum  colors  lie  the  inter- 
mediate colors  blue-violet,  violet-blue;  green-blue, 
blue-green;  yellow-green,  green-yellow;  orange- 
yellow,  yellow-orange;  orange-red,  red-orange; 
red-violet,  violet-red.  These  can  be  obtained  quite 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      201 

simply  by  mixing;  e.  g.,  a  small  amount  of  orange 
plus  red  gives  orange  red.  The  same  process  is 
applied  to  all  the  intermediates. 

How  to  Modify  a  Hue  in-  Value.  The  values  of 
any  pigment  can  be  raised  or  lowered  by  a  number 
of  methods.  Higher  values,  or  tints,  can  be  ob- 
tained by  adding  white;  lower  values  or  shades 
can  be  obtained  by  adding  black.  Owing  to  pig- 
ment impurities  the  addition  of  black  to  lower  a 
value  too  often  affects  purity  as  well  as  value, 
tending  to  muddy  the  color  it  is  mixed  with. 
Thus,  though  theoretically  black  added  to  yellow 
should  give  a  shade  of  yellow  actually  it  will  give  a 
grayed  green  or  at  any  rate  a  muddy  yellow. 
The  value  can  also  be  influenced  by  adding  a 
darker  or  a  lighter  color,  but  this  also  modifies  the 
hue.  A  dark  red  added  to  yellow  lowers  its  value, 
but  it  also  modifies  its  hue  towards  orange. 

How  to  Modify  a  Hue  in  Intensity  by  Color  Mix- 
ing. If  a  given  color,  green  for  example,  is  to 
be  modified  in  intensity  it  will  have  to  be  acted 
upon  by  another  color  which,  though  leaving  it 
green,  will  make  it  seem  less  pure,  no  longer  quite 
as  green  as  it  was  before.  It  will  require  the  mix- 
ture of  another  hue  with  the  green  to  produce  this 
effect.  Adding  a  little  blue  to  green  will  not  give 
a  grayed  green ;  it  will  only  create  a  different  hue, 
blue-green,  which  may  be  equally  intense  (although 
it  is  in  the  very  nature  of  pigment  mixing  that 
colors  lose  something  of  their  intensity  in  the 


202  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

process).  Adding  a  little  yellow  to  green  will 
create  yellow-green.  The  method  to  be  employed 
for  graying  a  color  is  to  add  its  complementary 
to  it.  To  gray  a  green,  add  violet.  To  gray  a 
blue  green,  add  red.  Theoretically,  it  would  be 
true  that  to  gray  a  blue,  yellow  should  be  added, 
but  we  have  seen  that  owing  to  the  impurities  in 
pigments  blue  and  yellow  mix  as  green.  There- 
fore, to  gray  a  blue  in  pigment  mixture  one  must 
add  orange. 

Colors  Which  Gray  One  Another  in  Pigment 
Mixing. 

Orange  and  Blue.  Blue  added  in  small  quanti- 
ties to  the  orange  will  give  a  grayed  orange. 
Orange  added  in  small  quantities  to  the  blue  will 
give  a  grayed  blue. 

Green  and  Violet.  Violet  added  in  small  quan- 
tities to  green  will  give  a  grayed  green.  Green 
added  in  small  quantities  to  violet  will  give  a 
grayed  violet. 

Blue  Green  and  Red.  Red  added  in  small  quan- 
tities to  blue  green  will  give  a  grayed  blue  green. 
Blue  green  added  in  small  quantities  to  the  red 
will  give  a  grayed  red. 

Browns.  How,  then,  does  one  account  for 
brown  as  a  color  I  Brown  has  not  appeared  in  the 
spectrum.  It  is  not  a  primary,  a  secondary,  nor 
an  intermediate.  But  those  who  have  mixed 
colors  know  that  browns  result  from  color  mixture 
and  can  be  obtained  by  quite  a  variety  of  methods. 
Although  in  theory  a  set  of  complementaries 


THE  THREEFOLD  ASPECT  OF  COLOR      203 

mixed  should  give  a  progression  in  grays,  in  prac- 
tice they  frequently  give  browns.  Bed  and  black 
also  give  brown. 

Thus,  violet  and  green  mixed  should  give  grayed 
violet  growing  grayer  and  grayer  as  the  propor- 
tion of  green  increases  until  the  green  and  violet 
are  equal  in  quantity,  in  which  case  a  pure  gray 
should  be  the  result.  Then  as  the  green  exceeds 
the  violet,  grayed  greens  should  result,  growing 
more  and  more  intensely  green  as  the  proportion 
of  violet  decreases.  Actually,  however,  unless  the 
greatest  care  is  taken  in  the  mixing,  browns  will 
appear,  violet  browns  and  greenish  browns.  Simi- 
larly, blue  green  and  red  are  likely  to  give,  besides 
grayed  reds  and  grayed  blue  greens,  reddish 
browns,  and  bluish  browns.  Orange  and  blue  will 
tend  to  produce  orange  browns,  and  bluish  browns. 


CHAPTEE  X 
NOMENCLATURE  AND  COLOR  STANDARDS 

Lack  of  Color  Standards.  One  of  the  difficul- 
ties facing  the  student  of  color  is  the  matter  of 
nomenclature  and  standards.  Color  and  hue  in 
general  use  mean  the  same  thing,  but  in  physics 
hue  is  only  one  of  the  attributes  of  color.  Physi- 
cists themselves,  though  they  agree  that  color  has 
three  constants,  or  measurable  qualities,  do  not 
agree  on  the  names  of  these.  Hue,  luminosity, 
purity ;  hue,  value,  chroma ;  hue  saturation,  bright- 
ness; are  three  typical  sets.  One  physicist  ex- 
plains that  saturation  is  the  point  where  the  purity 
and  luminosity  combined  are  fullest.  For  an- 
other, saturation  is  just  purity  or  chroma. 

In  the  field  of  linear  and  cubic  measurement 
there  are  generally  accepted  standards.  These 
standards  are  arbitrary,  but  an  inch,  foot  or  yard 
is  a  definite  unit  and  can  be  used  as  a  basis  for 
measurement?  But  in  color  there  is  as  yet  no 
universally  accepted  standard  red,  yellow,  blue, 
orange,  violet  or  green.  The  spectrum  colors  can- 
not be  the  standards  for  daily  use  because  colors 
as  found  in  nature  are  not  nearly  as  pure  or  in- 
tense as  are  colors  found  in  the  spectrum.  In 
other  words,  a  red  as  found  in  nature  will  have 

204 


NOMENCLATURE  205 

orange  or  yellow  or  blue  or  green  in  it.  Instead 
of  being  composed  simply  of  waves  of  one  length, 
it  will  be  composed  of  mixed  waves ;  of  red  wave 
lengths  and  waves  of  other  lengths.  A  given  red 
will  reflect  more  or  less  light.  How,  then,  is  one 
to  talk  of  color  schemes,  or  of  color  complemen- 
taries,  when  the  colors  which  are  referred  to  call 
up  no  absolutely  definite  images? 

Physicists  demonstrate  how  color  can  be  meas- 
ured through  various  mechanical  devices.  But 
psychologists  conducting  experiments  for  color- 
blindness or  color  sensitiveness  among  primitive 
people,  school  children  and  adults,  must  still  de- 
vote a  great  part  of  their  written  reports  to  ex- 
plaining what  they  mean  by  red,  green  or  blue, 
and  what  brand  of  colored  papers  or  of  colored 
silks  they  used  in  making  their  tests. 

Aubert  figured  out  experimentally  that  the  eye 
is  sensitive  to  one  thousand  distinct  hues  in  the 
spectrum,  and  to  at  least  one  hundred  values  of 
each  hue,  giving  one  hundred  thousand  tints  and 
shades.  Then  the  eye  senses  about  twenty  varia- 
tions in  intensity,  giving  in  all  two  million  colors 
which  the  eye  trained  to  judgment  would  be  able 
to  differentiate.  Granting  that  any  one  of  those 
two  million  colors  is  absolutely  measurable,  still  in 
ordinary  use  the  fluctuations  of  light  would  upset 
all  the  nice  calculations.  Indeed,  even  if  exact 
measurement  were  possible,  it  would  be  futile. 

For  the  conditions  of  everyday  planning  in 
color,  which  this  book  is  aiming  to  stimulate,. 


206  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

mathematical  niceties  are  impracticable  because 
of  their  intricacy ;  moreover,  they  are  unnecessary 
because,  as  we  have  just  seen,  there  are  so  many 
variable  conditions  that  at  best  one  can  hope  only 
for  approximations.  In  the  rough,  certain  princi- 
ples underlie  color  harmony,  given  colors  com- 
bine better  than  others,  but  considerations  of 
rhythm,  balance  and  proportion  must  also  be 
borne  in  mind,  and  the  effects  of  successive  and 
simultaneous  contrast  must  be  considered.  These 
and  considerations  growing  out  of  the  practical 
needs  in  the  solution  of  given  problems  are  treated 
in  this  book  with  the  aim  of  stimulating  thought, 
observation,  and  experiment,  rather  than  of  creat- 
ing what  in  the  absence  of  a  wealth  of  experimen- 
tation and  research  cannot  be  created,  namely,  an 
absolute  psycho-mathematical  science  of  color 
harmony. 

As  the  ultimate  test  in  the  everyday  use  of  color 
must  be  the  pleasure  of  the  eye  and  mind  and  not 
the  mathematical  totals  as  determined  by  Max- 
well's discs,  or  by  spectroscopic  measurement,  and 
as  the  exact  values  and  chromas  of  the  various 
hues  in  all  the  possible  combinations  could  quite 
obviously  not  be  stated,  much  of  what  is  stated  re- 
garding color  combination  takes  a  form  which  is 
only  approximately  true. 

Lovibond's  Color  Measurement.  But  there 
have  been  workers  in  the  field  of  color  who  have 
sought  to  give  to  color-terms  an  exact,  measur- 
able and  unmistakable  connotation.  In  England  a 


NOMENCLATURE  207 

brewer  named  Lovibond  found  that  beer  was  at  its 
best  when  it  was  a  certain  golden  amber  and  that 
as  the  flavor  deteriorated  the  beer  assumed  a  red- 
dish hue.  In  attempting  to  register  that  color  as 
a  standard  for  his  brewing  he  found  himself  in 
difficulties.  Any  record  he  could  make  for  con- 
stant reference  faded  or  changed  color.  He  in- 
quired as  to  the  progress  made  by  physicists  and 
was  informed  that  they  had  nothing  to  offer  in 
the  way  of  a  standard  or  set  of  standards  which 
could  be  used  like  a  color  yardstick.  He  grew  in- 
terested in  the  problem  and  the  task  became  a  life- 
work.  The  system  which  he  finally  evolved  and 
which  is  used  in  many  industries  in  England,  be- 
sides having  been  officially  adopted  by  some  or- 
ganizations here,  is  based  upon  the  use  of  a  set  of 
colored  glasses  the  exact  hue  value  and  chroma 
of  which  are  mathematically  determined  through 
the  use  of  a  definite  scale  and  set  of  units  as  start- 
ing-point. 

Munsell's  Color  Notation.  In  our  own  country 
Munsell  in  his  "  Color  Notation"  has  worked  out 
a  system  of  color  statement  which  is  very  useful. 
His  book  aims  not  only  towards  scientific  meas- 
urable notation  based  on  definite  standards,  but 
also  towards  a  simple  optical  measurement  of 
color,  based  on  familiarity  with  the  principles  of 
MunselPs  color  sphere. 

By  means  of  a  sphere  he  essays  to  help  color 
thinking  so  that  the  three  constants  of  color  can 
be  seen  in  relation  to  one  another.  He  aims  also 


208  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

to  create  a  system  of  color  notation  whereby  any 
color  would  have  a  definite  place  upon  the  sphere, 
the  position  of  which  could  be  mathematically 
stated  and  would  serve  completely  to  describe  the 
color. 

Around  the  sphere  in  ten  divisions  run  blue, 
blue-green,  green,  yellow-green,  yellow,  yellow-red, 
red,  red-purple,  purple,  blue-purple.  Imagine  an 
orange  cut  vertically  through  the  center  so  that 
ten  segments  resulted.  Each  of  these  would- cor- 
respond to  one  of  the  hues.  Hues  are  to  be  found 
by  a  horizontal  movement  around  the  sphere; 
(Hue — horizontal,  h). 

From  the  upper  to  the  lower  end  of  a  vertical 
axis  are  to  be  found  the  values.  At  any  given 
level  below  white  the  same  value  will  be  discov- 
ered no  matter  what  the  hue.  Imagine  an  orange 
cut  horizontally  in  ten  slices.  These  would  repre- 
sent progressive  values  from  0,  at  the  bottom 
which  is  black,  to  10,  at  the  top  which  is  white.  So 
that  at  the  equator  any  hue  will  have  the  value  5, 
(Value — vertical,  v). 

Chroma  (or  Intensity)  in  the  Sphere.  Chroma, 
intensity  or  purity  registers  from  the  periphery  or 
surface  of  the  sphere  inwards  towards  its  center. 
If  a  pin  be  stuck  into  the  sphere  horizontally  at 
yellow  value  3  but  pointing  to  its  vertical  axis,  it 
will  remain  within  the  given  hue,  and  within  the 
given  value.  It  will,  however,  pass  through  a 
gradation  of  weaker  intensities.  If  long  enough 
to  reach  the  center-vertical  axis,  its  point  will 


NOMENCLATURE  209 

no  longer  be  in  a  grayed  yellow  zone,  for  the 
vertical  axis  is  a  value  scale  of  pure  grays.  The 
chroma  then,  is  zero,  or  gray,  at  the  vertical  axis 
and  progresses  by  zones  through  1  which  is  weak 
and  very  much  grayed  to  5  which  is  the  chroma 
at  the  surface  of  the  sphere,  (Chroma — central, 
c).  This  " chroma "  is  what  is  referred  to 
throughout  this  book  as  intensity. 

Munsell's  Notation  System.  If  a  color  is  to  be 
described  it  can  be  stated  in  terms  of  its  position 
on  the  sphere,  e.g.,  yellow  I,  which  would  mean 
yellow  value  3,  which  is  quite  dark,  and  chroma  4, 

which  is  quite  pure.    Hue — Value — Chroma  h— . 

To  identify  a  color,  we  see  first  what  is  its  hue,  its 
horizontal  position  in  a  sequence  of  colors;  sec- 
ondly, what  is  its  value,  or  its  vertical  position  be- 
tween white  and  black;  and  thirdly,  what  is  its 
chroma,  or  distance  back  from  purity  at  the  sur- 
face to  gray  at  the  center. 

Munsell  's  Color  Tree.  But  although  the  periph- 
ery represents  colors  at  chroma  5,  Munsell  al- 
lows for  the  fact  that  some  colors  achieve  a  higher 
chroma  than  5,  which  must  be  represented  by 
branches  at  right  angles  to  the  vertical  axis  and 
extending  to  point  6,  7,  8,  9,  or  even  10.  This  is 
provided  for  in  his  color  tree  with  its  adaptation 
for  such  high  chroma  branches. 

Value  of  Munsell's  System.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  MunselPs  system  is  valuable  and  has 
many  points  to  recommend  it  for  educational  pur- 
poses, and  that  it  is  a  concise  and  simple  form  for 


210  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

visualizing  colors  in  relation.  But  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  fully  solves  the  problem  he  set  himself. 
To  prove  that  the  vocabulary  of  color  description 
is  very  vague  and  does  not  correspond  definitely  to 
the  visual  imagery,  he  begins  by  quoting  from  one 
of  Stevenson 's  letters  written  from  Samoa  to  a 
friend  in  London.  The  letter  follows : 

"Perhaps  in  the  same  way  it  might  amuse  you 
to  send  us  any  pattern  of  wall  paper  that  might 
strike  you  as  cheap,  pretty,  and  suitable  for  a 
room  in  a  hot  and  extremely  bright  climate.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  our  climate  can  be 
extremely  dark  too.  Our  sitting-room  is  to  be  in 
varnished  wood.  The  room  I  have  particularly  in 
mind  is  a  sort  of  a  bed  and  sitting-room,  pretty 
large,  lit  on  three  sides,  and  the  color  in  favor  of 
the  proprietor  at  present  is  a  topazy  yellow.  But 
then  what  color  to  relieve  it?  For  a  little  work- 
room of  my  own  at  the  back  I  should  rather  like 
to  see  some  patterns  of  unglossy — well  I'll  be 
hanged  if  I  can  describe  this  red —  It 's  not  Turk- 
ish and  it's  not  Koman  and  it's  not  Indian,  but  it 
seems  to  partake  of  the  two  last  and  yet  it  can't 
be  either  of  them  because  it  ought  to  be  able  to  go 
with  Vermillion.  Oh,  what  a  tangled  web  we 
weave — anyway  with  what  brains  you  have  left, 
choose  me  and  send  me  some — many — patterns  of 
this  shade." 

Now  when  Stevenson  was  so  stumped,  the  ques- 
tion arises  .  would  the  Munsell  system  have  en- 
abled him  to  describe  exactly  the  color  wanted,  or 


NOMENCLATURE  211 

is  it  possible  that  there  was  something  almost  inde- 
finable in  his  mental  image?  When  he  says  "un- 
glossy"  he  has,  moreover,  realized  the  important 
attribute  of  texture  in  his  color  image, — an  attri- 
bute that  most  color-writers  fail  to  appreciate 
though  it  is  most  intimately  associated  with  color 
feeling.  The  very  color  Stevenson  is  thinking  of 
might  be  shown  him,  only  to  be  refused  because 
a  difference  in  texture  might  give  him  a  sensation 
quite  different  from  that  which  he  is  seeking. 
Thus,  a  gingham  and  a  velvet  both  dyed  with  the 
very  same  red  will  each  seem  to  have  its  own  color 
mood.  There  are  aspects  of  color  too  elusive  to 
be  caught  in  the  color  formula,  blue  f . 

Although  there  is  absolute  need  for  standards 
in  color,  it  seems  futile  to  find  fault  with  color  be- 
cause verbal  attempts  at  its  description,  even  in 
the  hands  of  masters  of  language  fail  to  correspond 
to  the  varieties  of  color  imagery.  For  that  mat- 
ter, how  would  Stevenson  describe  to  his  friend  in 
London  the  rustling  of  the  Samoan  trees,  the  wail- 
ing of  Samoan  winds,  the  surging  sounds  of  Sa- 
moan seas.  For  ordering  wall  paper  it  is  useful 
to  have  a  specific  color  vocabulary,  but  the  more 
sensitive  we  become  to  color,  to  its  subtle  and  posi- 
tive action  and  reaction  to  the  surroundings,  the 
more  we  must  recognize  that  the  eye,  like  the  ear, 
can  respond  to  more  sensations  than  language  is 
able  to  describe; 

Though  the  two  million  perceivable  variations 
of  color  to  which  the  retina  is  sensitive  according 


212  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

to  calculation,  are  not  all  quite  so  simply  charted 
as  Munsell  might  wish,  it  is  for  most  purposes 
quite  unimportant  that  they  should  be  determined 
and  stated  with  absolute  accuracy.  In  using 
standards  these  need  be  as  nearly  exact  as  the 
circumstances  call  for.  When  we  measure  goods 
for  a  dress,  the  yardstick  may  be  slightly  warped, 
but  roughly  there  is  a  given  length  which  is  ap- 
proximately correct.  When  we  require  measure- 
ments for  a  machine  part,  one  hundredth  of  an 
inch  may  make  a  difference.  In  ordinary  color 
use,  though  the  exact  niceties  of  color  may  escape 
color  notation  of  MunselPs  kind,  the  painter,  the 
designer,  the  decorator  is  certainly  no  worse  off 
for  at  least  being  able  to  make  a  simple  statement 
fairly  descriptive  in  character.  For  this  purpose 

the  formula  hue  J^L  in  terms  of  tenths  is 
useful.  As  the  author  has  chosen  the  word  in- 
tensity for  chroma  this  would  be  written  hue 

value 
intensity  • 


CHAPTER  XI 
COMPLEMENTAEY  COLORS 

Retinal  Exhaustion  through  Over-Stimulation. 
If  the  reader  will  place  one  of  the  experimental 
colored  papers,  a  bright  red  for  example,  upon  a 
blank  white  page  and  gaze  steadily  at  this  red 
near  one  of  its  edges  for  a  minute  or  more,  there 
will  appear  alongside  of  that  edge  a  very  pale  but 
intense  blue  green.  If  he  will  then  pull  the  red 
slip  away  there  will  appear  directly  beneath  it  a 
continuation  of  the  pale  blue  green.  This,  as  has 
already  been  explained,  is  due  to  retinal  exhaus- 
tion. The  nerve  endings  of  the  eye  which  respond 
to  red  have  become  tired  and  practically  refuse  to 
go  on  responding.  The  eye  in  looking  at  the  white 
page,  which  is  reflecting  red,  blue  and  green,  fails 
to  respond  to  the  red  and  so  senses  only  the  re- 
maining constituents  of  the  light,  thus  seeing  blue 
green  where  there  is  white.  White  light  minus 
red  equals  blue  plus  green.  Hence,  the  eye  tired 
of  red  sees  only  blue  plus  green  or  blue-green. 

Balance  of  Stimulation.  Since  long  exposure  to 
any  one  color  thus  tends  to  over-stimulation  of  a 
set  of  nerve  endings,  it  becomes  evident  that  no  one 
color  can  remain  agreeable,  and  that  colors  must 

213 


214  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

be  correctly  chosen  in  pairs  to  produce  a  balanced 
stimulation  of  the  retina.  What  colors  would  best 
balance  one  another  in  the  stimulation  of  the  ret- 
ina? The  experiment  described  in  the  first  para- 
graph proved  that  blue-green  would  balance  red. 
Similarly,  it  will  be  found  that  blue  and  yellow 
balance,  and  that  green  and  violet  balance. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  each  case  of  exposure 
to  one  color,  i.e.,  to  one  constituent  of  light,  as  for 
example  red,  the  eye  tends  to  call  up  a  blend  of  the 
remaining  constituents  of  light,  green  and  blue,  as 
the  complementary  color.  It  would  follow,  then, 
that  the  complementary  of  any  color  would  be  the 
sum  of  the  remaining  two.  Red  plus  blue  plus 
green  equal  white  light.  The  complementary  of 
red  is  blue  plus  green,  or  blue-green.  The  com- 
plementary of  blue  is  red  plus  green,  or  yellow. 
The  complementary  of  green  is  red  plus  blue  or 
violet.  To  find  the  complementary  of  any  one  of 
the  experimental  colored  papers  in  this  book,  the 
reader  can  use  the  method  of  eye  fatigue,  placing 
it  over  white  and  observing  the  color  which  first 
appears  at  the  fringe  of  the  disc,  and  then  beneath 
the  paper  when  it  is  slowly  withdrawn. 

Complementary  colors  are  two  colors  which, 
juxtaposed,  will  produce  a  balanced  stimulation 
of  the  retinal  nerve  endings  and  if  mixed,  will  sum 
up  as  white  or  grayed  litjht. 

Primaries  and  Secondaries.  A  primary  color 
is  a  basic  color,  one  which  can  not  be  derived 
through  mixing  two  other  colors.  A  secondary 


COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS  215 

color  is  a  compound  color,  which  results  from 
the  mixing  of  two  primaries.  Which  then  are 
the  primaries  and  which  the  secondaries?  This 
should  be  easy  to  answer.  But  there  is  a  difficulty. 
Most  of  us,  if  we  have  been  taught  anything  about 
color,  have  been  taught  that  red,  yellow  and  blue 
are  the  primaries,  and  that  green,  violet  and 
orange  are  the  secondaries. 

The  physicists,  however,  have  more  recently  dis- 
covered that  yellow  is  not  a  primary,  that  it  is  a 
mixture  of  red  and  green ;  and  that  green  is  not  a 
secondary  but  a  basic  color,  a  primary. 

"But,"  the  painter  will  say,  "no,  that  is  im- 
possible. I  have  obtained  green  by  mixing  yellow 
and  blue,  green  is  therefore  a  secondary.  I  have 
never  mixed  a  yellow  from  two  other  colors. 
Therefore  yellow  must  be  a  primary. " 

To  which  the  physicist  replies,  "You  have  mixed 
pigments  which,  being  gross,  seem  to  confute 
physical  theory.  In  physics  the  use  of  colored 
lights  has  demonstrated  that  red  and  green  give 
yellows  and  that  yellow  is  therefore  a  secondary. ' ' 

The  difficulties  of  nomenclature  resulting  from 
this  difference  between  the  mixing  of  pigments  and 
the  physical  theory  of  color  mixing  are  not  insu- 
perable. Grant  to  the  painter  his  right  to  name 
the  colors  as  they  act  for  him  in  mixing,  and  to 
speak  of  his  primaries  as  pigment  primaries. 
Grant  to  the  physicist  his  right  to  name  them  as  he 
finds  them  in  the  composition  of  light  and  to  call 
his  primaries  physical  primaries. 


216  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

Pigment  Primaries :    Bed,  Blue,  Yellow. 

Pigment  Secondaries :    Orange,  Green,  Violet. 

Physical  Primaries :     Green,  Blue,  Bed. 

Physical  Secondaries:  Violet,  Yellow,  Blue- 
Green.  (See  Plate  XVI.) 

The  Old  Complementaries  and  the  New.  But 
it  is  wrong  for  the  painter*  to  ignore  the  sets  of 
complementaries  as  experimentally  obtained.  It 
does  not  matter  apart  from  pigment  mixing  which 
colors  we  call  primary  and  which  secondary; 
what  counts  in  the  matter  of  color  harmony  is  the 
correctness  of  complementaries.  Whether  we  call 
yellow  a  secondary  and  blue  a  primary  as  the  new 
physicist  does,  or  call  yellow  and  blue  both  pri- 
maries as  do  the  painters,  the  fact  remains  that 
they  are  complementary  to  one  another. 

The  old  physicist  had  as  his  complementaries : 
Bed  and  green, 
Yellow  and  purple, 
Blue  and  orange. 

The  new  physicist  finds  the  following  as  the  true 
complementaries : 

Bed  and  blue  green, 
Blue  and  yellow, 
Green  and  violet. 

Complementary  Colors  and  Color  Attributes. 
If  we  study  the  complementary  colors  in  pairs  we 
will  make  some  rather  interesting  discoveries  with 
reference  to  their  qualities  and  the  variety  of  man- 
ners in  which  these  complement  and  balance  one 
another. 


PLATE    XVI 


COMPLE.ME.NTARI5M 


MIXING    Of    COLOR5    IN    Phy51C5 


VIOLET 


BLUE. 


Red,  green,    and     blue      are     the      physical      pri- 
maries.   Yellow,   violet,  and      blue-green     are 
the     physical      secondaries.    Red,    0reen,  and 
blue     are     the     constituents     or    white     light. 
Over  stimulation     ]oy    any     one     or    these     c^lls 
up    the     sum      of    the     other    two.   Thus     over- 
stlmulatlon     by      blue      calls      up    yellow,    which 
Is     the     sum     of    red     and     green.    Yellow     and 
blue     then     are     complementarles.    The     comple- 
mentary    of    oreen     LS     violet,   or    the     sum     or 
red     and     blue.  The    complementary    of    red     Is 
blue -preen,    or    the     sum     oF    oreen     and     blue. 
Any     two      complementarles      mixed      £JLVe      ^rAJ/- 
All     mixtures-    referred     to    In     the     preceding    are 
the      mixture     of    colored     lidhts      and     not     of 
pigments". 


COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS  217 

Colors  seem  to  possess  temperature ;  some  seem 
warm,  others  cold.  Colors  seem  to  possess  force ; 
some  seem  active  and  advancing;  others  passive 
and  receding.  Colors  seem  to  possess  weight; 
some  seem  heavy,  others  seem  light.  In  each  of 
these  attributes,  complementary  colors  balance 
one  another. 

Warm  and  Cold  Colors.  Through  association 
with  the  sun,  fire  and  flame,  red  yellow  and  orange 
are  called  the  warm  colors.  A  study  of  the  spec- 
trum VIBGYOE  reveals  the  warm  colors  as  being 
all  at  one  end  of  the  scale.  The  cooler  colors  are 
at  the  other  end.  It  will  be  noted  that  violet  and 
blue  are  the  colors  of  night  and  of  shadows  where 
light  and  heat  do  not  penetrate. 

That  the  principle  of  coldness  and  warmth  of 
colors  is  recognized  and  is  applied,  consciously  or 
unconsciously,  in  daily  life,  is  proved  by  the  use 
of  pale  greens  and  blues  to  suggest  refreshing 
coolness  in  posters  of  summer  drinks. 

Study  will  reveal  that  the  complementaries  bal- 
ance one  another  in  warmth  and  coolness. 

Yellow  is  warm;  blue  is  cold. 

Eed  is  warm ;  blue  green  is  cold. 

A  warm  green  (yellow-green)  will  be  balanced 
by  a  cold  violet  (blue-violet). 

A  cold  green  (blue-green)  will  be  balanced  by  a 
warm  violet  (red- violet). 

Complementaries,  balancing  one  another  retin- 
ally,  incidentally  present  in  each  pair  a  balance  of 
warm  and  cold  stimulation. 


218  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

My  Friend  the  ^Esthete.  Among  my  friends  is 
one,  a  painter  of  cobwebby  pictures  of  strange 
hues  and  stranger  textures,  a  carver  of  wood  who 
knows  how  to  make  his  modeling  appeal  to  the 
touch  so  that  one  wishes  to  stroke  it.  He  is  an 
aesthete  to  his  finger  tips,  not  only  in  line  and  form 
and  color,  but  in  his  very  contact  with  experience. 
His  love  of  mystery,  subtlety,  and  dimmed  lights 
led  him  in  evolving  a  scheme  of  decoration  for  his 
studio  to  choose  black,  silver,  green  and  blue-green. 
But  as  he  himself  explains  it,  he  found  that  the 
result  always  impressed  him  as  a  chord  of  music 
left  unresolved ;  as  a  sentence  the  thought  of  which 
was  unfinished.  He  found  that  people  who  visited 
him,  though  they  were  pleased  by  the  novelty  of 
his  scheme,  soon  grew  weary  of  it. 

Then  came  the  great  discovery.  All  the  while 
that  chord  of  color  had  been  waiting  for  its  com- 
plement, lemon  yellow.  "  Lemon  yellow  is  a  very 
wonderful  color.  It  is  like  a  person  in  an  assem- 
blage who  mixes  well;  who  is  neither  insistent 
nor  aggressive,  but  is  in  spite  of  his  restraint  a 
positive  force."  All  of  which  was  his  way  of 
saying  that  he  found  that  lemon  yellow,  which  in 
its  warmth  balanced  his  cool  scheme,  brought  to 
his  room  not  only  a  note  of  warmth,  but  also  a 
more  positive  note  of  force  and  light. 

Activity  in  Colors,  Advancing  and  Receding 
Hues.  For  colors  which  succeed  in  suggesting 
heat  through  certain  associations  and  through 
their  quantity  of  irradiation  and  reflection,  also 


COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS  219 

succeed  in  suggesting  greater  and  less  power  of 
self -activity.  Thus  certain  colors  seem  timid  and 
retiring ;  they  are  passive  and  seem  to  recede  from 
the  eye,  suggesting  distance.  Other  colors  are 
bold  and  forceful ;  they  are  active  and  seem  to  ad- 
vance towards  the  eye,  suggesting  nearness. 
When  the  baby  reaches  for  the  flame,  the  sun,  or 
the  orange,  it  is  because  of  the  intense  activity  of 
these  colors  which  disengage  themselves  from  the 
general  blue-gray  of  their  surroundings  to  come 
forward  to  impinge  more  strikingly  on  the  child's 
retinal  consciousness.  At  night  all  cats  are  gray, 
all  colors  seem  to  lose  their  aggressiveness  and  to 
become  vague  and  elusive.  The  atmosphere  as  it 
recedes  grows  bluish  in  the  distant  mountain  and 
the  domed  sky. 

Nature  seems  to  have  reckoned  upon  the  activity 
of  certain  colors  and  to  have  been  very  sparing 
in  her  use  of  them;  rarely  employing  them  as 
cloaks  for  large  areas.  The  fields  are  green  or 
dark  brown,  the  sky  and  sea  are  blue  or  blue-green. 
Eed  is  most  sparingly  used  as  are  also  yellow  and 
orange  which  we  associate  with  flowers  and  fruit, 
butterfly  wings  and  narrow  strips  of  sandy  beach. 
Where  nature  gives  us  red,  yellow,  and  orange 
more  lavishly,  as  in  the  autumn  trees,  it  is  so 
broken  up  by  dark  shadows  that  the  result,  even  in 
the  richest  autumn  m'ass,  is  a  broken  color  area  in 
which  cool  shadows  balance  the  activity  of  the 
strong  color  spotting. 

Blondes  and  Brwiettes,  Vitality  in  Complexion. 


220  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Blondes,  golden-haired  and  peach-bloomed,  are  al- 
luring and  captivating  by  virtue  of  the  activity  of 
their  coloring.  Brunettes,  black  haired  and  olive 
skinned,  when  they  are  not  rosy  of  cheek  are  se- 
ductive and  "mysterious"  by  virtue  of  the  sug- 
gestion of  distance  and  elusiveness  in  their  color- 
ing. The  blonde  of  the  Lillian  Eussell  type  is 
especially  suited  to  the  stage  because  of  the  force 
of  her  coloring.  It i '  gets  over. ' '  Brunettes  upon 
the  stage  must  generally  resort  to  rich  and  active 
colors  in  their  costumes  for  their  carrying  power. 
Blondes  may  appear  in  dark  colors  of  receding  hue 
as  they  may  trust  the  brilliance  of  their  hair  and 
face  to  carry. 

Advance  and  recession  seem  to  suggest  sound 
to  some  people.  Bed,  yellow,  and  orange  are  fre- 
quently called  loud  colors;  blue  green  and  violet, 
quiet  colors. 

If  we  examine  the  complementaries  we  find  that, 
when  considered  in  pairs,  they  represent  a  balance 
of  activity. 

Yellow  is  advancing,  blue  receding. 

Red  is  advancing,  blue-green  receding. 

Green  is  moderately  advancing,  violet  is  reced- 
ing. 

Activity  of  Colors,  and  "Plasticity."  Science 
and  art,  generally  conceived  as  arch  enemies,  as 
far  apart  as  the  poles,  each  the  result  of  an  en- 
tirely different  "f acuity"  of  man's  nature,  prove 
in  the  case  of  color  application  to  be  mutually  help- 
ful. Since  the  Renaissance  the  researches  of  the 


COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS  221 

scientist  have  been  eagerly  employed  by  the  artist. 
The  mathematicians  and  the  anatomists  in  the 
court  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  rubbed  elbows 
with  painters  and  sculptors.  If  the  painters  and 
sculptors  were  inspired  on  the  one  hand  by  the 
beauty  of  old  Greek  and  Roman  poetry,  and  found 
many  of  their  themes  in  pagan  mythology,  they 
seem  to  have  been  equally  impressed  by  the  per- 
spective charts  and  the  anatomical  dissections  of 
their  scientific  friends.  Compare  the  art  of  the 
fifteenth  century  with  that  of  the  fourteenth  in 
Italy,  and  one  feels  at  every  point  the  preoccupa- 
tion of  the  artist  with  the  new  scientific  data. 

The  plastic  painting  about  which  one  hears  so 
much  to-day  is  an  amplification  of  the  scientist's 
discovery  of  advancing  and  receding  colors.  If 
yellow  comes  forward  and  blue  recedes,  the  move- 
ment of  planes,  the  strong  sense  of  modeling,  and 
the  feeling  of  the  third  dimension  depth,  can  be 
strongly  suggested  by  the  use  of  yellows  in  the 
nearer  planes  and  of  blues  in  the  farther  ones. 
In  a  still  life,  a  portrait,  or  a  landscape  by  Cezanne 
in  his  later  style  the  application  of  this  principle 
to  painting  becomes  apparent.  It  was,  in  part, 
this  abler  realization  of  volume  in  painting  which 
led  to  the  term  "Cubist." 

Color  and  Weight.  Light  and  Heavy  Colors. 
Observe  children  flying  kites,  and  study  the  colors 
of  the  kites  as  they  hang  in  the  air.  The  kites  float 
there  suspended  like  birds,  or  with  a  flurry  of 
wind  they  cavort  playfully  in  wild  circles.  There 


222  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

are  kites  of  all  colors.  But  the  dark  green  kite 
seems  somehow  not  to  look  right.  It  belongs  to 
the  earth.  For  dark  green  is  a  heavy  color.  It 
suggests  weight,  ponderousness.  Look  at  the 
pale  yellow  one,  or  the  pale  pink  one.  They  are  in 
their  place  as  they  float  or  wheel  in  soft  curves, 
for  their  colors  suggest  lightness  and  aerial  grace. 
A  lighter  green  would  be  more  suggestive  than  a 
dark  green  of  the  power  to  rise  above  the  earth 
on  winged  winds.  Although  value  and  intensity 
play  a  large  part  in  the  apparent  weight  of  colors, 
roughly  speaking  the  spectrum  hues  as  such  seem 
to  complement  one  another  in  weight.  Pure  reds, 
yellows  and  oranges  seem  lighter  in  weight  than 
pure  blues,  violets  or  greens. 

One  experimenter,  E.  Bullough,  writing  in  the 
British  Journal  of  Psychology,  describes  elaborate 
tests  which  he  made  to  determine  whether  there 
is  anything  like  a  general  agreement  among  a  large 
number  of  people  as  to  the  lightness  and  weight  of 
certain  colors  in  combination.  He  points  out  that 
on  a  wall  ten  feet  high,  five  feet  of  pink  will  not 
support  five  feet  of  red.  The  red  would  be  too 
heavy.  Five  feet  of  red  would  support  five  feet 
of  pink.  Eight  feet  of  pink  would  support  two 
of  red.  Although  this  may  be  due  to  association, 
the  mind  being  accustomed  in  nature  to  seeing  the 
darks  at  the  bottom,  he  is  inclined  to  interpret  it  as 
a  complication  of  color  sensation  with  the  idea  of 
physical  weight  or  solidity,  "i.e.,  it  might  be  an 
application  of  the  mechanical  law  of  gravity  to  the 


COMPLEMENTARY  COLORS  223 

attribution  of  weight  to  color. "  Further  on,  he 
adds  that  apparent  heaviness  is  to  be  explained 
not  as  a  landscape  association,  but  on  the  feeling 
that  " there  is  more  of  it."  A  glass  of  pale  claret 
alongside  of  dark  claret  will  seem  lighter  in 
weight.  So  red  seems  heavier  than  pink  because 
there  is  more  pigment  in  it.  Colors  approaching 
white  seem  light,  colors  approaching  black  seem 
heavy.  The  experiments  with  colored  slips  have 
demonstrated  that  colors  approaching  purity  will 
seem  heavier  than  colors  of  the  same  value  grayer. 
Complementaries  in  Color  Harmony.  From  all 
the  foregoing  study  of  the  character  of  comple- 
mentaries and  the  manner  in  which  they  supple- 
ment and  balance  one  another  in  their  properties, 
it  becomes  evident  that  a  study  of  color  combina- 
tion will  necessarily  be  based  in  large  measure  on 
the  use  of  complementaries.  For  complementa- 
ries  make  not  only  for  a  balanced  retinal  stimula- 
tion, but  for  an  interesting  variety  and  contrast  of 
attributes. 


CHAPTER  XII 
SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST 

The  Interaction  of  Colors.  To  appreciate  the 
influence  of  a  given  color  upon  the  colors  adjoin- 
ing it,  place  a  small  strip  of  gray  paper  upon  an 
intensely  red  ground.  The  gray  will  appear  blu- 
ish green.  This  effect  can  be  heightened  by  look- 
ing at  the  gray  and  red  papers  through  a  thin 
sheet  of  tissue  paper,  which  is  very  valuable  for 
experiments  in  simultaneous  contrast.  If  the 
gray  is  now  placed  upon  a  blue  green  ground,  it 
will  appear  reddish ;  upon  a  yellow  ground  it  will 
seem  bluish ;  and  upon  a  bluish  ground  it  will  ap- 
pear yellowish.  In  every  case  it  would  take  on 
something  of  the  hue  complementary  to  the  pure 
colored  background. 

If  red  tends  to  throw  blue  green  into  the  gray, 
and  blue  green  tends  to  throw  red  into  the  gray, 
it  becomes  evident  and  can  be  proved  by  experi- 
ment that  placing  a  red  upon  blue  green  will  in- 
tensify both  the  red  and  the  green  by  contrast. 

Psychologists  and  physiologists  differ  as  to  the 
exact  cause  of  this  phenomenon.  But  whether  it 
is  due  to  errors  in  mental  judgment,  to  eye  move- 

224 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  225 

ments,  or  to  over-stimulation  of  nerve  endings, 
simultaneous  contrast  describes  the  mutual  effect 
of  two  colors  juxtaposed  or  placed  upon  each 
other. 

Color  not  an  Absolute.  That  a  given  color  is 
not  an  absolute,  that  it  is  a  thing  varying  in  many 
ways  dependent  upon  the  light  it  receives  and  the 
colors  which  surround  it  is  a  fact  which  must 
never  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  study  of  color.  For 
color,  far  from  being  chameleon-like,  has  quite 
often  the  opposite  quality  of  increasing  its  differ- 
ence from  its  environment,  through  contact  with 
it.  When  a  blue  dress  enters  a  golden  room  it 
does  not  become  golden;  it  becomes  bluer.  Nor 
does  the  gold  become  less  pronounced ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  becomes  more  markedly  yellowish. 

Italian  skies  are  certainly  bluer  than  the  skies  of 
London  or  of  Paris.  But  there  are  days  when  the 
vaulted  dome  above  the  sky-scrapers  of  New  York 
might  appear  as  blue  as  the  sky  above  Venice  or 
Naples,  if  there  were  the  powerful  yellows  and 
pinks  in  our  buildings  to  set  off  its  azure  by  con- 
trast. To  see  a  white  wall  bright  in  sunlight 
against  a  New  York  October  blue  is  an  aid  to  a 
fuller  realization  of  the  importance  of  contrast  in 
achieving  interesting  color  effects.  The  blue  me- 
dallions or  borders  in  the  golden-yellow  Oriental 
rugs,  the  red  roses  on  the  blue-green  bushes  are 
examples  of  the  application  of  this  principle  in 
nature  and  in  art. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  and  Dress.    A  sitter  and 


226  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

her  friend  came  to  the  studio  of  the  author.  The 
sitter  was  American,  gray-eyed,  golden-haired  and 
fair.  The  subject  of  dress  came  up.  Both  con- 
fessed that  they  were  in  endless  difficulties  be- 
cause of  colors  which  did  not  turn  out  right.  The 
friend  complained  of  dresses  which  had  made  her 
look  sick.  She  was  a  particularly  beautiful  Ital- 
ian girl  of  the  noble  Roman  matron  type,  of  olive 
complexion,  with  fine  modeling  of  features  and  very 
dark  eyes.  Each,  equally  attractive  in  her  way, 
found  that  a  dress  could,  through  a  mistake  in 
choice  of  color,  be  quite  hostile  to  her  good  appear- 
ance. However,  it  is  unnecessary  to  amplify  upon 
their  experience  as  it  is  common  enough  in  greater 
or  less  degree.  The  author  undertook  to  inform 
each  of  them  concerning  the  color  schemes  best 
suited  to  their  type. 

The  Olive  Brunette  and  her  Blue  Dress.  He 
told  the  brunette  that  she  had  not  fared  well  in 
pure  blue.  She  wished  to  know  how  he  could  know 
this.  By  observation,  partly;  largely,  however, 
through  an  application  of  the  law  of  simultane- 
ous contrast,  according  to  which  it  was  evi- 
dent that  a  blue  dress  would  intensify  the  yellows 
and  greens  in  her  complexion,  changing  it  from  a 
deep,  rich,  subtle  olive  to  a  jaundiced  greenish 
yellow. 

The  Blonde  and  the  Same  Blue  Dress.  That 
very  blue  so  fatal  to  the  Italian  would,  accord- 
ing to  the  very  same  law  of  contrast,  prove 
most  effective  on  her  friend.  She  was  blonde. 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  227 

White  or  any  pale  tint  would  make  her  look  sweet 
and  dainty.  But  to  make  her  hair  more  golden, 
her  skin  more  beautifully  tender  and  transparent, 
she  might  wear  the  blue  which  had  proved  so  fatal 
to  her  Italian  friend.  This  application  of  simul- 
taneous contrast,  one  of  the  simple  and  more  ob- 
vious ones,  is  applied  by  many  unconscious  of  the 
reason  but  strongly  conscious  of  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  result. 

Tables  of  Simultaneous  Contrast.  Chevreul,  in 
his  work  on  color,  enters  at  great  length  into  the 
exposition  of  the  law  of  simultaneous  contrast 
and  gives  endless  tables  containing  data  concern- 
ing the  influence  of  one  color  on  another.  But  the 
theory  once  understood,  these  tables  are  not  neces- 
sary, for  the  reader  can  arrive  at  the  result  in  any 
given  case  by  a  moment's  calculation.  For  ex- 
ample, according  to  the  law  of  simultaneous  con- 
trast, blue  will  throw  a  yellowish  cast  into  its  ad- 
jacent colors,  with  the  following  results. 
Blue  will  make  yellow  seem  more  intense. 

"       "       "      red  seem  orange  by  adding  yel- 
low to  it, 

"       "       "      a  cool  gray,  warm. 

"       "       "      a  warm  gray,  warmer 

"       "       "      a  green,  yellow  green. 
Bed,  according  to  the  laws  of  simultaneous  con- 
trast, tends  to  throw  blue  green  into  adjacent 
colors.    The  results  follow. 
Bed  will  make  blue-green  seem  more  intense  by 
contrast. 


228  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Eed  will  make  yellow  seem  greenish  by  adding 

blue-green  to  it. 
"       "       "      orange  seem  brown  by  adding 

blue-green  to  it. 
"       "       "      warm  gray  seem  less  warm  by 

adding  blue-green  to  it. 

"      "       "      cool  gray  seem  cooler  by  con- 
trast. 

In  these  and  all  following  statements  concern- 
ing simultaneous  contrast,  the  reader  is  advised  to 
experiment  with  the  colored  discs  which  are  fur- 
nished with  this  volume.  This  collection  can  be 
much  enlarged  and  extended,  preferably  with  tex- 
tures of  dress  goods,  wall  papers,  wood  veneers, 
and  similar  materials  according  to  the  interest  of 
the  experimenter.  All  experiments  should  be 
made  with  note  book  handy. 

Green,  according  to  the  law  of  simultaneous  con- 
trast, throws  violet  into  adjacent  colors. 
Green  will  make  violet  seem  more  intense. 
"        "       "      yellow    seem   less   intense   by 

adding  violet  to  it. 
"        "       "      red  seem  red-violet. 
"        "       "      cool  gray  seem  violet  in  tint. 
Yellow  will  make  blue  seem  intenser. 

"        * '       "      red,  violet,  by  adding  blue  to  it. 
"        "       "      cool  gray  seem  cooler,  by  add- 
ing blue  to  it. 

Blue  green  will  make  red  seem  more  intense. 
"         "        "       "      yellow   seem   orange,   by 

adding  red  to  it. 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  229 

Blue  green  will  make  orange  seem  red  orange. 
"         "        "       "      warm  gray,  warmer. 
' '         "        "       "      cool  gray,  warm. 

Violet  will  make  green  more  intense. 

"        "       "      yellow  seem  yellow  green,  by 

adding  green  to  it. 
"        "       "      red  seem  brownish. 
"       "       "      grays  seem  greenish. 

Pigment  and  Luminosity.  The  law  of  simul- 
taneous contrast  helps  the  colorist  partly  to  over- 
come one  of  the  great  difficulties  which  face  him. 
Pigments  are  not  luminous.  The  brightest  white 
obtainable  is  still  a  dead  white ;  the  yellow,  orange 
or  red  pigment  when  brushed  upon  the  canvas  does 
not  arouse  that  sensation  of  intense  brilliance 
which  is  present  in  the  coloring  of  nature.  It  is 
through  the  law  of  simultaneous  contrast  delib- 
erately applied  that  the  commercial  poster  artist, 
the  label  designer,  the  tapestry  weaver,  the  painter 
or  the  stage  costumer  can  achieve  their  most  pow- 
erful color  effects.  Eealizing  that  if  yellow  can- 
not be  given  the  intensity  of  the  stained  glass 
through  which  light  filters,  a  richness  approxi- 
mating this  can  be  secured  by  surrounding  it  with 
blue;  the  artist  who  seeks  intensity  of  coloring 
uses  complementary  colors  pure,  and  relies  upon 
simultaneous  contrast  to  give  to  each  its  maximum 
of  richness. 

"Petrouschka,"  The  Yellow  Gown  and  the  Pur- 
ple Tent.  Thus  in  the  Eussian  Ballet  Petrou- 
schka,  the  appeal  to  the  eye  is  made  on  the  basis 


230  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

of  a  purity  of  colors  the  differences  in  which  were 
intensified  by  contrast.  Through  the  purple  cur- 
tain of  the  puppet's  tent  there  appears  the  master 
of  the  dolls,  clad  in  yellow.  The  shrill  notes  which 
he  plays  upon  his  pipe,  clear  and  penetrating,  have 
their  counterpart  in  this  contrast  of  a  bright  yel- 
low made  more  intensely  yellow  against  a  deep 
dark  violet  made  more  intensely  violet  by  simul- 
taneous contrast. 

The  "Modern"  Love  of  Intense  Colors.  The 
result  of  such  contrast  when  carefully  considered 
is  to  increase  the  range  of  color  expressiveness 
beyond  the  limits  known  to  the  old  masters  of 
painting  or  of  stage  setting.  There  was  always 
a  great  restraint  in  the  older  painters,  in  whose 
pictures  whole  areas  are  black,  gray,  or  very 
dark  brown,  and  in  which  the  smaller  colored 
areas  are  far  from  spectrum  purity.  Color 
schemes  in  which  grays  predominate  have  the 
charm  of  sweetness  and  of  subtlety,  but  the  dis- 
criminating lover  of  color  no  longer  seeks  his 
harmony  by  avoiding  color ;  he  achieves  harmony 
by  mastering  it  and  organizing  it,  even  in  its  pur- 
est, strangest,  and  most  intense  notes. 

Puritanism  and  Negative  Harmony.  Just  as 
there  is  a  negative  goodness,  so  there  is  a  negative 
harmony.  There  are  many  who  are  called  refined 
because  they  are  unexpressive  and  never  have  a 
personal  conviction ;  they  do  not  raise  their  voices 
above  a  whisper  or  their  minds  above  a  dead  level 
of  conformity.  So,  too,  in  color  many  who  pride 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  231 

themselves  on  their  taste  are  really  exercising  ab- 
negation. They  dress  in  black  gray  or  dark 
brown;  they  dress  their  children  in  white.  This 
restraint,  this  avoidance  of  anything  which  might 
be  doubtful  or  experimental,  gives  them,  they 
think,  the  right  to  laugh  at  the  person  who,  really 
loving  color,  frequently  blunders  about  its  use. 

Positive  Harmony  in  Bakst.  In  the  Eussian 
Ballet  we  had  an  example  of  the  expressiveness 
of  color,  its  power  of  great  emotional  stir  when 
used  with  a  full  intensity,  enhanced  by  simulta- 
neous contrast.  When  associated  with  music  and 
with  motion,  and  all  three  are  strongly  harmonized 
in  such  a  ballet  as  Thamar,  the  result  is  absolutely 
intoxicating.  The  effect  of  riotous  abandon  in 
Thamar  was  due  to  the  Bakst  color-effects  quite  as 
much  as  to  its  accompaniment  of  "modern "  music. 
The  rich,  glowing  oranges,  reds  and  maroons  in- 
tensified by,  as  well  as  intensifying  the  blues,  blue 
greens,  and  violets  as  they  revealed  themselves 
when  the  curtain  went  up,  produced  an  immediate 
thrill  of  blazing  Oriental  splendor. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Impressionism  and 
Post-Impressionism.  This  use  of  pure  and  pow- 
erful colors,  each  more  resonant  because  of  the 
other,  is  one  of  the  marked  features  of  what  has 
come  to  be  known  as  the  Post-Impressionist  group. 
When  they  first  appeared  the  Impressionists  were 
greeted  as  wild  men  guilty  of  gross  excess  in  color. 
Those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  gray-greens 
and  silver  of  Corot,  and  to  the  browns  and  grays 


232  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

of  the  Dutch  landscape  painters,  were  startled  by 
the  blue  water,  the  white  sails,  the  yellow-green 
grass,  the  orange-green  foliage,  the  violet-gray 
shadows  of  Monet.  People  had  never  seen  these 
colors  in  art,  and  so  had  failed  to  observe  them  in 
nature.  But  the  Impressionists  finally  won  recog- 
nition, and  their  manner  of  seeing  nature  has  be- 
come the  fashion.  The  fine  distinction  of  tint  or 
shade,  the  exquisite  compounds  due  to  the  chang- 
ing character  of  the  atmosphere,  are  the  color 
effects  which  the  Impressionist  uses  as  the  mate- 
rial of  his  pictures. 

The  Post-Impressionist  agrees  with  the  Impres- 
sionist that  under  the  influence  of  atmosphere  col- 
ors may  become  grayed  and  elusive ;  that,  in  fact, 
night  may  completely  rob  color  of  its  body  and 
leave  nothing  but  the  ghost  of  the  hue ;  a  gray  of 
green,  red,  or  blue,  so  vague  that  the  blue  can 
scarcely  be  determined.  But  the  " modern"  in- 
sists on  a  greater  freedom  of  color  expression. 
He  is  not  merely  the  notator  recording.  He  is  the 
color  designer  using  color  freely,  as  suits  him. 
If  he  wishes  to  express  force  in  his  work,  subtle 
color  will  be  fatal. 

The  color  schemes  he  chooses  are  as  strong  and 
irritating  when  compared  with  Monet's  atmos- 
pheric subtleties  as  is  Monet's  work  when  com- 
pared with  that  of  Corot.  Is  it  necessarily  less 
true  to  nature,  less  objective  in  inspiration! 
Hardly.  History  will  repeat  itself.  History  al- 
ways repeats.  The  layman  learned  in  time  to  dis- 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  233 

cover  the  truth  of  the  color  schemes  of  the  impres- 
sionist; that  the  colors  in  a  Monet  were  as  true 
and  harmonious  for  a  certain  kind  of  light  and 
place  as  the  colors  of  Corot  were  for  another. 
He  will  also  learn  that  the  "  crude  disco rds"  of 
the  new  school  are  faithful  and  expressive  records 
of  nature's  more  insistent  moments,  when  colors 
grow  purer  through  simultaneous  contrast,  and 
he  will  learn  to  enjoy  this  more  vital  coloring. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  in  Nature.  Observe  the 
pansy.  The  yellow  pansy  has  a  blue  heart.  The 
blue  pansy  has  a  yellow  heart.  Looking  across  the 
river  to  the  west,  watching  the  sunset  sky,  see  how 
the  hill  or  forest  becomes  deep  blue  against  the 
yellow  sky.  Walk  across  a  city  square  on  a  sunlit 
day,  or  stroll  along  the  sandy  beach  on  a  hot  sum- 
mer afternoon  and  the  intensity  of  the  colors  will 
prove  dazzling.  There  are  moderns  who  welcome 
this  more  powerful  color  orchestration  in  nature. 
Seeking  to  express  not  the  tenderness  which  Corot 
recorded,  nor  the  subdued  variety  of  tints  which 
Monet  observed,  these  painters  seem  at  times  to 
be  crying  out  against  their  pigment  for  its  lack 
of  power  and  intensity.  To  such  the  tendency  of 
colors  to  intensify  one  another  when  used  in  cer- 
tain pairs  may  seem  like  a  special  ordainment  of 
.an  aesthetic  providence. 

Phases  of  Simultaneous  Contrast.1  Simultane- 
ous contrast  may  like  every  other  principle  of 

i  Throughout  the  following  the  reader  by  using  the  colors  in 
the  back  of  the  book  may  verify  each  of  the  statements  made. 


234  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

color  be  studied  with  reference  to  the  various  at- 
tributes of  color.  Colors  juxtaposed  or  superim- 
posed influence  one  another  as  regards : 

1.  Hue.     Simultaneous      contrast      tends      to 

heighten  or  even  to  modify  hue  by  seeming 
to  change  it. 

2.  Value.     Simultaneous  contrast  affects  value. 

Darks  may  appear  darker  and  richer; 
lights  may  appear  higher  and  brighter  or 
both  may  lose  their  quality. 

3.  Purity.     Simultaneous  contrast  affects  pur- 

ity, tending  to  make  colors  seem  grayer  or 
purer  according  to  the  character  of  the 
colors  juxtaposed. 

4.  Warmth.     Simultaneous   contrast   may   ap- 

pear to  increase  or  diminish  the  apparent 
warmth  of  hues. 

5.  Advance  and  Eecession.     Simultaneous  con- 

trast may  make  some  colors  seem  to  jump ; 
or  other  colors  to  lose  themselves. 

6.  Weight.     Simultaneous  contrast  may  make 

heavy  colors  seem  more  ponderous — light 
colors  more  evanescent. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  of  Values  m  Grays. 
These  are  considered  first  because  by  an  experi- 
ment with  pure  grays  without  hue  or  any  other 
color  attributes  to  affect  the  issue,  the  effect  of 
contrast  can  be  most  simply  observed. 

Five  strips  of  varying  grays  each  one  equal  in 
tone  present  a  fluted  appearance  through  simulta- 
neous contrast.  (See  plate  V.) 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  235 

Here  then  we  observe  that  contrast  gains  its 
effectiveness  partly  from  illusion; — the  eye  being 
deceived  in  the  case  of  a  uniform  gray  area  into 
believing  that  the  gray  where  it  meets  the  white  is 
darker  than  where  it  meets  the  black.  From  this 
it  would  seem  that  in  a  gray  painting,  if  it  were  de- 
cided that  a  feeling  of  luminosity  and  light  had 
been  lost  and  that  the  gray  had  been  pitched  a 
trifle  too  low,  a  judicious  spotting  of  darks  might 
tend  to  heighten  the  value  by  contrast.  On  the 
other  hand  in  a  night  scene  if  the  grays  seemed 
pitched  somewhat  too  high  to  suggest  the  darkness 
of  night  a  few  spots  of  very  high  value  might 
make  the  general  tone  of  the  picture  appear  much 
darker. 

Simultaneous  Contrast  of  Value  in  Hues.  In  so 
far  as  hues  juxtaposed  or  superimposed  differ  in 
value,  this  contrast  in  value  will  create  the  same 
illusions.  The  light  color  will  seem  to  grow 
lighter;  the  dark  color  will  seem  to  grow  darker. 

Hence  a  very  light  red  on  a  dark  red  will  seem 
lighter  by  contrast. 

A  dark  red  on  a  light  red  will  seem  darker  by 
contrast. 

And  if  the  hues  are  different  as  well  as  the 
values  the  effect  is  still  the  same ;  except  that  not 
only  value  but  also  hue  is  affected.  Thus  a  light 
red  on  a  dark  blue  green  may  become  modified  in 
hue ; — but  in  any  event  it  will  also  become  modi- 
fied in  value  and  seem  lighter  just  as  the  blue 
green  will  seem  darker. 


i 


236  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Grays  and  Hues.  A  light  gray  alongside  a  dark 
color  seems  lighter. 

A  dark  gray  alongside  a  light  color  seems 
darker. 

A  dark  gray  alongside  of  dark  colors  only  mud- 
dies them  through  mixing  with  them  (because  of 
the  closeness  of  value). 

A  dark  gray  or  black  combines  well  with  col- 
ors which  are  high  in  value. 

A  light  gray  or  white  will  mix  with  and  confuse 
light  colors  through  closeness  of  value. 

In  other  words  if  the  rich  depth  of  blue, 
green,  or  violet  or  even  of  a  shade  of  the  warmer 
colors  is  to  be  maintained  white  or  light  gray  is 
used.  If  the  brilliance  of  pure  yellow,  orange, 
red  or  of  a  pure  tint  of  a  colder  color  is  to  be 
felt,  black  or  dark  grays  may  be  used. 

Contrast  of  Colors  as  Regards  Hue.  We  have 
already  observed  that  colors  tend  to  modify  one 
another  in  hue.  There  is  little  to  be  added  to 
what  has  previously  been  said  about  simultaneous 
contrast  of  hues  except  that  it  is  accompanied  by 
the  effects  of  contrasting  of  values  whenever 
there  is  in  addition  to  the  difference  in  hues  this 
difference  in  values. 

Contrast  of  Colors  as  Regards  Intensity.  Pure 
colors  make  dull  colors  lose  what  little  purity  they 
have  and  tends  to  gray  them,  unless  the  pure  and 
the  dull  color  are  complementary. 

Pure  and  Dull  Areas  of  Same  Hue.  Thus  a 
pure  yellow  will  make  a  very  dull  yellow  seem  still 


SIMULTANEOUS  CONTRAST  237 

less  intense  by  throwing  blue  into  it  and  further 
graying  and  dulling  it.  A  pure  red  will  gray  a 
dull  red,  by  throwing  blue  green  into  it.  Thus 
two  colors  may  be  deadened  by  simultaneous  con- 
trast, just  as  complementaries  may  be  enlivened 
by  it. 

One  Pure  and  One  Dull  Area  of  Different  Hue 
(not  complementary).  A  pure  yellow  alongside  a 
dull  red,  tends  to  further  dull  the  red,  as  the  con- 
trast of  brilliance  makes  the  dull  color  seem  still 
duller.  Moreover  by  throwing  blue  into  the  red, 
the  latter  loses  what  little  purity  it  had  and  be- 
comes still  grayer. 

Broadly  stated  then  this  gives  us  the  principle 
that  pure  areas  alongside  of  dull  areas  of  different 
hue  but  not  complementary  tends  to  reduce  pur- 
ity in  the  latter. 

Two  Pure  Areas  of  Different  Hue  (not  comple- 
mentary). Pure  yellows  alongside  of  pure  reds 
tend  to  dull  each  other  through  their  interaction 
of  hue.  The  red  throws  blue-green  into  the  yel- 
low, graying  it.  The  yellow  throws  blue  into  the 
red,  making  it  seem  less  intense,  and  moving  it 
towards  red- violet. 

Two  Areas  of  Complementary  Hue. 

Intensity  and  effectiveness  are  heightened  when 
complementaries  are  juxtaposed  or  superimposed. 

When  both  are  pure,  as  pure  yellow  and  pure 
blue  the  yellow  becomes  more  brilliant,  the  blue 
becomes  more  brilliant. 

When  only  one  color  is  pure,  as  in  pure  yellow 


238  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

and  dull  blue  the  yellow  becomes  intenser,  the  blue 
becomes  less  dull. 

When  both  are  dull,  dull  yellow  and  dull  blue* 
each  becomes  less  dull. 

A  Warm  and  a  Cold  Color.  These  intensify 
one  another  in  character,  the  warm  seeming 
warmer,  the  cold  colder.  Thus  red  and  yellows 
and  oranges  and  warm  browns  will  never  seem  as 
joyous,  as  warm  and  glowing  as  when  placed 
alongside  of  blue-green,  blue-violet  and  blue. 

Contrast  as  Regards  Activity.  Colors  affect 
one  another  in  their  relative  activity.  Just  as  in 
literature  the  villain  sets  off  the  hero,  the  passage 
of  quiet  description  set  off  the  passages  of  violent 
action;  so  in  coloring  strong,  advancing,  forceful 
colors  gain  in  strength,  advance  and  force  from 
juxtaposition  with  quiet  retiring  colors.  The  still 
quiet  of  the  sky  is  made  more  tranquil  in  its  gray 
blue  softness  through  the  brilliance  in  its  twink- 
ling stars.  The  sun  dazzles  most  against  a  deep 
blue  expanse. 

Active  colors  juxtaposed  lose  force. 

Inert  colors  lose  interest. 

Active  and  receding  colors  combined  in  one 
scheme  intensify  by  contrast. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
COLOR  HARMONY 

Color  Combination  versus  Color  Organization. 
Color  harmony,  in  the  general  meaning  of  the 
term,  refers  to  the  pleasure  which  the  eye  and 
mind  take  in  certain  combinations  of  hues,  whether 
in  nature  or  in  art.  Just  as  given  musical  notes 
combine  to  create  chords  of  sound  which  are  pleas- 
ing to  the  ear  and  mind,  so  color  tones  may  com- 
bine to  form  chords  of  color  which  stimulate  the 
eye  and  mind  agreeably. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  color  harmony  has  in  the 
past  been  considered  the  result  of  color  combina- 
tion rather  than  of  color  fitness  and  color  organ- 
ization. Colors  have  been  classified  in  pairs  and 
"triads"  as  "fair,"  "bad,"  and  "good."  One 
writer  on  the  problems  of  color  harmony  illus- 
trates his  book  with  colored  charts  each  broken 
into  a  hundred  squares.  Through  these  charts  he 
demonstrates  the  color  schemes  of  selected  ex- 
amples of  rugs,  vases  and  chinaware.  The  per- 
centage of  each  color  in  a  given  scheme  he  repre- 
sents by  so  many  squares  of  that  color.  What  is 
completely  overlooked  in  this  statement  is  that 
color  harmony  is  much  more  a  matter  of  arrange- 
ment and  the  organization  of  the  colors  employed 

239 


240  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

than  is  usually  suspected.  Two  or  more  colors 
poorly  distributed  may  create  diffused  interest  or 
even  annoying  rivalry;  differently  arranged  they 
may  become  fair  without  being  very  stimulating 
or  interesting.  A  further  transposition  of  the 
notes  may  make  the  same  color  chord  quite  indi- 
vidual and  effective. 

C omplementarism  and  Simultaneous  Contrast 
only  Starting  Points.  Complementarism  is  a 
good  starting-point  for  color  harmony,  since  it 
states  an  important  physiological  condition  worth 
remembering :  namely,  the  need  of  balanced  retinal 
stimulation.  The  law  of  simultaneous  contrast  is 
important  since  its  application  enables  the  de- 
signer to  enhance  or  reduce  the  vitality  of  one  or 
more  of  the  colors  in  his  schemes.  But  over  and 
above  these  are  the  laws  of  harmony  as  they  apply 
in  the  arts  generally,  laws  which  govern  the  taste- 
ful arrangement  and  organization  of  the  material. 

If  color  expression  is  to  become  an  art  it  must 
conform  to  the  conditions  which  obtain  in  the  other 
arts.  Colors  must  be  well  composed  in  the  same 
sense  that  the  sounds  in  a  symphony  must  be  well 
composed.  In  a  sonnet,  a  cathedral,  or  a  suspen- 
sion bridge,  the  mind  demands  certain  principles 
of  arrangement  and  plan  in  the  use  of  the  material, 
which  may  in  the  larger  sense  of  the  word  be  called 
the  "fundamentals  of  harmony " ;  not  of  color  har- 
mony or  poetic  harmony  or  musical  harmony,  but 
of  all  harmony.  This  chapter  will  be  devoted  to 
a  statement  of  the  laws  of  harmony  as  they  apply 


COLOR  HARMONY  241 

in  all  the  arts  and  of  their  special  application  to 
color. 

Harmony — the  Goal  of  All  Endeavor.  Har- 
mony is  a  word  which  calls  up  associations  of  all 
that  is  desirable  in  life,  whether  in  the  realm  of 
objects,  or  in  the  less  tangible  realm  of  moods. 
In  spite  of  the  apparent  confusion  of  daily  life, 
it  is  the  constant  goal  of  man's  endeavor.  In 
spite  of  the  apparent  chaos  in  the  myriads  of  phe- 
nomena in  nature,  it  constantly  evidences  itself 
there  too  as  the  unifying  principle.  Eeligions  re- 
sult from  the  attempt  to  harmonize  the  facts  of 
self  and  the  universe.  The  state  results  from  the 
attempt  to  harmonize  the  individual  with  the 
group.  The  family  is  an  attempt  to  harmonize 
sex-life  with  its  normal  result  in  dependent  off- 
spring. Education  is  an  attempt  to  harmonize  the 
individual  with  his  environment,  socially,  politi- 
cally, industrially. 

Harmony  Defined.  Likeness  within  Variety. 
"Harmony,"  says  one  philosopher,  "is  a  unity, 
all  the  terms  of  which  are  in  inner  accord. ' '  This 
unity  implies  a  variety  to  be  harmonized.  Unity 
then  is  not  uniformity.  The  adage  that  "  variety 
is  the  spice  of  life"  tells  only  half  the  truth,  for 
variety  is  the  very  principle  of  life,  and  in  design 
is  the  prime  aid  to  interest. 

Imagine  a  country  in  which  it  is  always  day  of 
an  even  light.  How  oppressive  this  evenness 
would  become  to  those  accustomed  to  variety! 
For  those  born  in  a  country  of  continuously  even 


242  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

light,  light  would  become  non-existent ;  absolutely 
unnoticed  for  lack  of  a  contrast  to  set  it  off.  The 
most  beautiful  song  note  sustained  forever  would 
become  maddening  or  non-existent.  The  most 
lovely  of  faces,  if  all  faces  resembled  one  another, 
would  soon  lose  all  power  of  appeal  or  interest. 
The  most  exquisite  color,  if  it  were  the  only  color, 
would  soon  annoy  or  disappear. 

Variety,  however,  is  quite  frequently  an  irritat- 
ing spice,  as  unpleasant  in  its  kick  and  tang  as 
flatness  would  be  in  its  lack  of  both.  Though  too 
much  of  one  thing  is  not  pleasurable,  too  much 
difference  may  be  equally  annoying.  Variety 
may  result  in  the  diffusion  of  interest.  It  may 
irritate  the  attention  which  it  catches.  It  may 
fatigue  the  mind  if  no  inner  clarity  and  binding 
principle  reveals  itself.  We  enter  a  room  in 
which  each  object  is  separately  beautiful  yet  no 
two  belong  together.  We  hear  seven  sounds  si- 
multaneously, but  each  one,  though  pleasant  in 
itself,  is  at  war  with  the  rest.  In  each  case  va- 
riety and  difference  are  present ;  yet  the  result  is 
far  from  agreeable.  Variety  in  its  very  nature 
may  tend  to  discord;  chaos  being  the  most  ex- 
treme example  of  endless  variety. 

Likeness,  then,  verges  on  monotony,  and  variety 
is  in  danger  of  being  discordant.  Harmony 
blends  the  good  of  likeness  and  of  variety  without 
their  evil.  Harmony  is  the  goal  of  art  and  life 
in  that  it  consists  of  a  rational  likeness  or  unity 
within  an  agreeable  difference  or  variety.  In 


COLOR  HARMONY  243 

rational  living,  as  in  beautiful  expresson,  there 
should  be  a  binding  force  holding  together  con- 
trasting elements  and  interests. 

General  Law  of  Harmony.  Forms  of  Order. 
This  orderly  unifying  element  which  binds  the 
varying  and  contrasting  parts  takes  three  forms 
each  more  or  less  metrical.  They  are  called 
rhythm,  balance,  and  proportion.  Whatever  the 
art  is,  whether  it  employs  planes  and  volumes  as 
in  sculpture,  action  as  in  drama  or  tones  as  in 
music,  these  are  the  three  types  of  arrangement 
by  which  the  elements  are  unified. 

These  three  principles  are  called  Forms  of  Or- 
der because  they  are  really  mathematical  arrange- 
ments in  which  an  orderly  or  rational  measure  is 
observed.  Beauty,  the  aesthetic  pleasure  of  har- 
mony, seems  to  be  more  closely  related  to  mathe- 
matical orderly  arrangement  in  which  a  rational 
underlying  unity  is  observed,  than  one  might  sus- 
pect. Beauty  is  mood,  in  the  popular  conception. 
Yet  there  is  an  almost  measured  relation  in  the 
beautiful  pattern  which  seems  to  belie  this  popu- 
lar conception  of  art  and  to  give  ground  for  the 
Pythagorean  notion  that  number  or  proportion, 
measure,  arrangement,  and  a  formal  orderliness, 
are  inherent  not  only  in  the  plan  of  the  universe, 
as  its  guiding  essence,  but  that  they  are  also  the 
guiding  principles  in  really  good  design. 

A  group  of  independently  interesting  and  at- 
tractive units  thrown  at  random  on  a  surface, 
without  a  well  planned  relation  to  one  another 


244  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

or  to  the  surface,  would  hardly  constitute  a 
beautiful  design.  They  might,  in  fact,  be  dis- 
tressingly bad.  Yet  homes  for  a  long  time  were 
and  still  are  for  the  most  part  assembled  very 
much  like  such  a  disorderly  unreasoned  grouping 
of  separately  attractive  things. 

Ehythm,  balance,  and  proportion  are  the  forms 
of  order  according  to  which  lines,  planes  and  col- 
ors may  be  composed,  (1)  so  that  they  themselves 
have  a  guiding  orderly  principle  or  unity  within 
each  part;  (2)  so  that  the  parts  relate  to  one  an- 
other in  an  orderly  and  unified  manner. 

Rhythm  is  the  unification  of  the  contrasting  ele- 
ments through  related  motion  in  the  parts  of  the 
design. 

Balance  is  a  unification  of  the  contrasting  ele- 
ments through  the  centering  of  contrasts. 

Proportion  is  a  unification  of  the  contrasting 
elements  through  the  introduction  of  a  measured 
relation. 

Dominance  and  subordination  are  each  phases 
of  that  central  unity  which  must  control  through- 
out the  rhythm,  balance  and  proportion. 

Rhythm.  Ehythm  is  the  form  of  order  which  is 
secured  by  related  motion  in  the  contrasting  ele- 
ments of  the  design.  This  related  motion  is  illus- 
trated in  the  regular  relation  of  accented  and  un- 
accented syllables  in  verse.  Music  is  written  in  a 
given  time  which,  as  in  poetry,  indicates  a  rhyth- 
mic recurrence  of  accents.  The  sculptor's  marble 
bears  a  less  obvious  but  none  the  less  deliberately 


COLOR  HARMONY  245 

planned  relation  of  movement  in  the  accented  and 
unaccented  elements  of  line  and  plane,  protuber- 
ance and  depression.  The  shop  window  which  has 
no  related  movement  in  the  arrangement  of  its 
details  is  disorderly,  and  therefore  unattractive 
and  unpleasant.  A  well-designed  dress  is  rhyth- 
mic in  its  lines,  its  draping,  and  its  coloring,  in  all 
of  which  the  principal  movement  must  be  delib- 
erately planned  to  be  harmonious. 

The  universal  character  and  application  of  the 
principle  of  rhythm  or  ordered  movement  is  exem- 
plified in  a  myriad  ways  in  nature.  Ehythm  is 
exemplified  in  the  veining  of  leaves,  the  branch- 
ing of  trees,  the  spiral  lines  of  sea  shells,  the 
spider's  web,  the  crest  and  trough  of  the  rolling 
waves,  in  all  of  which  the  lines  move  with  a  clearly 
related  unity  within  their  various  paths.  The 
alternation  of  night  and  day,  the  beating  of  the 
heart,  the  very  breath  of  life  is  rhythmic  like  the 
accent  in  poetry. 

Color  Rhythm.  Since  motion  is,  to  judge  from 
the  success  of  the  moving  pictures,  a  prime  aid  to 
interest,  we  can  realize  the  importance  of  an  un- 
derstanding of  color  rhythm  in  design.  The  mo- 
ment we  have  colors  on  an  area,  the  eye,  in  ex- 
ploring that  area,  will  sense  motion  in  the  design. 
The  mere  feeling  of  motion,  however,  is  not 
enough.  If  the  eye  is  to  take  pleasure  in  the  mo- 
tion, the  motion  must  be  agreeably  related  and 
unified. 

In  what  manner  can  color  be  used  so  that  a 


246  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

feeling  of  related  motion  is  created?  Obviously, 
through  regular  repetition,  through  alternation, 
or  through  a  progression  of  gradual  increase  or 
decrease  in  value,  intensity,  warmth,  weight,  or 
force. 

Flat  Color  vs.  Gradation.  Flat  color,  if  it  were 
possible,  would  be  a  most  offensively  dead  thing. 
So  eager  is  the  eye  for  variety  and  contrast  that 
rhythm  of  color,  whether  through  repetition,  al- 
ternation, or  through  a  graduated  increase  or  de- 
crease in  its  qualities  is  a  great  aid  to  a  pleasur- 
able feeling  in  the  contemplation  of  color.  Nature 
never  creates  a  perfectly  flat  tone,  dead  in  finish 
and  lacking  in  variety.  Man  sometimes  tries  to 
accomplish  this,  but  it  is  well  nigh  impossible. 
However,  it  is  not  enough  to  rely  upon  accidental 
gradation. 

Gradation  is  to  painting  and  color  what  it  is  to 
music, — one  of  its  finest  means  for  emotional  sug- 
gestion. A  violinist  plays  a  single  note  and  sum- 
mons from  it  by  modulation  a  wealth  of  variety. 
Vermeer  uses  a  yellow,  and  passing  it  through  a 
few  gradations  from  a  dull  to  a  brilliant  gold  stirs 
us  as  a  violinist  might  by  the  beauty  of  his  modu- 
lations. 

Rhythm  of  Color  Gradation  may  be  produced 
through  a  gradual  increase  or  decrease  of  the  val- 
ues, through  the  gradual  increase  or  decrease  of 
intensity,  or  through  the  gradual  change  of  hue. 
A  progression  from  pale  blue  very  near  white  to 
deep  blue  almost  black  is  a  rhythm  in  value.  A 


COLOR  HARMONY  247 

blue  sky,  though  usually  thought  of  as  an  ungraded 
blue,  is  in  truth  a  rhythmic  gradation  of  values  of 
blue.  A  progression  from  a  pure  intense  green 
in  the  fields  in  the  foreground  through  reduced 
intensities  of  green  to  greenish  grays  in  the  dis- 
tance represents  the  gradation  of  intensities  in 
nature.  The  gradation  of  color  from  a  yellow 
green  in  the  foreground  to  green  in  the  middle 
ground  to  blue  green  beyond  to  blue  in  the  dis- 
tance represents  a  gradation  of  hue.  The  beauty 
of  certain  textures  like  satin  resides  very  largely 
in  the  fact  that  the  light  as  it  plays  upon  them 
produces  a  natural  gradation  of  values,  intensities 
and  hues.  A  yellow  satin  registers  in  its  folds  not 
only  a  rhythmic  movement  of  values  and  intensi- 
ties but  even  of  hues,  playing  through  yellow 
orange  to  orange  and  even  blue. 

Color  Rhythm  in  Line.  Gradation  and  Direc- 
tion of  Lines.  When  a  line  is  drawn  it  creates  a 
moving  path  which  holds  the  eye  through  the  con- 
trast of  its  color  with  that  of  the  ground  upon 
which  it  rests.  If  there  is  a  feeling  of  unity  within 
that  movement  as  in  an  oval,  an  "S  curve "  or  a 
spiral  curve  it  becomes  agreeable  even  as  a  line. 
The  movement  within  a  given  line  can  be  intensi- 
fied by  a  gradation  in  the  stroke,  which  may  grow 
gradually  fuller  or  thinner.  Much  of  the  charm 
of  good  draughtsmanship  and  brush  work  comes 
from  such  a  gradation  of  value  in  the  lines.  A 
drawing  in  which  the  lines  reveal  no  gradation 
or  accenting  would  be  like  a  voice  without  inflec- 


248  COLOR  IN  EVEEYDAY  LIFE 

tion.  In  a  dress,  folds  or  pleats  create  what  are 
virtually  accented  lines. 

When  there  is  a  feeling  of  unity  or  relation  be- 
tween the  movement  of  a  line  and  the  movement 
of  the  lines  or  planes  which  surround  it,  the  effect 
of  rhythm  is  enhanced. 

Color  Rhythm  through  Parallelism.  An  im- 
portant principle  in  color  arrangement  is  parallel- 
ism, which  is  the  effect  of  lines,  planes,  or  masses 
all  moving  in  one  direction.  Parallelism  tends  to 
enhance  the  feeling  of  movement  and  is  moreover 
responsible  for  illusions  which  can  be  utilized  in 
color  expression.  Painters  and  sculptors  seeking 
to  create  the  feeling  of  a  given  movement  will  re- 
peat the  main  line  of  that  movement  in  the  acces- 
sories. Millet's  Gleaners  all  bend  in  one  direc- 
tion and  the  parallelism  of  all  the  curves  enhances 
the  effect  of  the  slow  bending  action  in  each.  But 
the  application  is  quite  definite  even  in  dress  de- 
sign and  home  planning.  Many  lines  moving  ver- 
tically enhance  the  feeling  of  height.  The  par- 
allelism of  many  horizontal  lines  will  tend  to  in- 
crease the  feeling  of  width.  Figures  or  rooms 
may  be  made  to  seem  higher  or  lower  through  the 
use  of  parallel  horizontals  or  verticals. 

Color  Repetition.  Formal  and  Informal.  The 
feeling  of  rhythm  or  related  motion  can  be  secured 
through  a  planned  repetition  of  a  given  color 
throughout  the  area  of  the  design.  A  dress,  no 
matter  how  well  chosen  in  color,  if  decorated  with 


COLOR  HARMONY  249 

just  one  note  of  contrast  in  a  collar  for  example, 
would  be  lacking  in  the  rhythmic  quality  which 
would  come  from  a  repetition  of  that  note  in  a 
touch  of  color  in  the  hat,  beads  or  flowers.  The 
eye  takes  pleasure  in  being  led  by  graded  steps 
from  note  to  note.  Gradation  of  color,  and  the 
movement  of  lines  are  two  means  towards  afford- 
ing the  pleasure  of  related  movement  in  color. 
Kepetition  is  another. 

The  repetition  can  be  formal,  as  in  the  case  of 
striping,  or  informal,  as  in  the  case  of  the  collar 
just  mentioned.  The  note  of  that  collar,  if  not 
repeated  either  exactly  or  with  variations  of  in- 
tensity and  value,  would  stand  out  detached  and 
unrelated.  In  a  beautiful  rug  or  a  painting  by  a 
colorist,  the  designer  can  study  the  application  of 
informal  repetition  and  the  interesting  manner  in 
which  the  two  principal  colors  recur  in  the  detail. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  every  great  colorist  was 
a  color  composer.  He  is  a  colorist  not  because  his 
"colors  go  well  together "  but  because  they  are 
well  organized. 

Rhythm  towards  a  Climax.  In  planning  the 
movement  of  color  interest  in  a  design,  it  is  de- 
sirable in  the  interest  of  dominance,  of  clarity  and 
effectiveness  to  organize  the  colors  so  that  the 
rhythm  is  towards  the  point  of  greatest  interest, 
which  should  receive  the  strongest  color  treat- 
ment. One  means  to  this  end  is  a  gradation  or 
gradual  movement  in  value  or  intensity  towards 


250  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  point  of  greatest  emphasis,  which  can  be 
further  reenforced  in  its  interest,  by  introducing 
at  that  point  the  strongest  contrast.  Thus  the 
blue  collar  at  the  neck  might  be  very  pure  and 
very  dark  against  the  flesh  and  the  dress  goods; 
the  blue  notes  in  sash,  dress,  border  or  bag  might 
be  graded  from  gray  blue  to  that  climax  of  pure 
blue. 

Balance.  This  is  the  form  of  order  which  is  se- 
cured by  centralizing  the  interest  of  the  design, 
through  the  judicious  arrangement  of  its  elements. 
In  music,  sweet  soft  passages,  highly  intricate  and 
embroidered,  balance  powerful  passages  simple  in 
mass  and  detail.  In  the  drama,  the  character  of 
Caliban  is  balanced  by  the  introduction  of  Ariel, 
Miranda  and  Prospero.  The  balance  may  be  with 
regard  to  character,  to  action,  to  movement  or  to 
any  of  the  other  elements  of  interest. 

In  aiming  at  variety,  the  elements  of  tragedy 
and  comedy,  accompaniment  and  melody,  dark 
and  light  must  be  so  related  that  the  pattern  pre- 
sents a  judicious  weaving  of  these  elements  into 
a  unified  effect.  No  matter  how  much  force  ac- 
tion or  even  conflict  the  designer  or  composer 
seeks  to  express,  there  must  be  a  center  or  axis 
to  which  the  elements  relate  so  that  the  struc- 
ture is  nevertheless  poised.  Just  as  a  building 
must  conform  to  structural  principles  which 
arouse  a  feeling  of  stability,  so  a  play,  a  sym- 
phony, a  rug,  a  dress  or  a  room  interior  must  be 
balanced  in  structure,  the  separate  interests 


COLOR  HARMONY  251 

grouping  themselves  around  the  central  interest 
with  a  more  or  less  clearly  perceived  order.  This 
does  not  mean  that  a  color  composition  must  be 
as  formally  composed  as  a  Greek  temple ;  it  may 
be  as  playful  as  a  Persian  illumination  or  a 
Gothic  cathedral.  It  may  be  a  scherzo  in  color 
mood  but  even  then  the  parts  may  be  so  adjusted 
that  the  interest  is  centered. 

Color  Balance.  Given  an  area,  a  blank  white 
page  or  a  blank  black  page,  how  other  than  by 
rhythm  can  color  be  introduced  to  add  interest, 
variety  and  contrast  in  an  agreeable  and  orderly 
manner  f  There  are  three  ways : 

a.  By  symmetrical  color  spotting. 

b.  By  radiating  spotting. 

c.  By  informal  or  non-geometrical  color  spot- 

ting, so  disposed  as  to  keep  the  interest 
centered. 

Whether  we  employ  a,  b  or  c,  the  problem  is 
in  all  cases  this:  the  maintenance  of  agreeable 
poise  in  the  disposition  of  the  colors.  A  small 
black  area,  if  agreeable  in  shape,  may  need  no 
breaking  up.  The  same  shaped  area  enlarged  will 
prove  oppressive  if  it  is  one  solid  color.  Break- 
ing up  by  spotting,  whether  symmetrical,  radiat- 
ing or  informal,  introduces  a  contrast,  and  if  only 
the  proportion  of  the  two  or  more  tones  is  accu- 
rately gauged,  a  balanced  color  interest  can  be  cre- 
ated within  the  variety. 

Symmetry  in  Color  Balance.  Color  may  be  cen- 
tralized most  obviously  by  having  equal  and  like 


252  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

masses  placed  in  opposition  on  both  sides  of  a  cen- 
ter line.  The  face  with  its  blue  eyes,  its  eyebrows 
each  side  of  the  center,  is  an  example  of  a  formal 
color  balance.  So,  too,  is  a  flower  seen  in  front 
view.  When  the  shape  to  be  decorated  is  sym- 
metrical, color  symmetry  is  generally  employed. 
In  the  treatment  of  vertical  surfaces  such  as  wallsr 
symmetry  of  color  arrangement  is  in  place  because 
here  logic  and  construction  demand  in  some  of 
the  severer  rooms  an  easily  perceived  order. 
But  symmetry,  in  spite  of  its  attractiveness,  is  in 
danger  of  failing  to  maintain  interest  through  its 
obviousness.  It  is,  however,  very  restful,  because 
of  this  very  characteristic. 

Radiation  in  Color.  Color  may  be  centralized 
by  arranging  it  all  around  a  center  at  equal  dis- 
tances as  in  the  top  view  of  a  flower  like  the  daisy. 
Eadiation  of  color  is  appropriate  to  the  treatment 
of  horizontal  surfaces.  Symmetry  dictates  the 
point  of  view,  and  is  therefore  suitable  to  the  ver- 
tical plane.  Eadiation  permits  of  a  shifting  point 
of  view  and  is  therefore  suitable  to  horizontal 
planes  like  floors,  where  it  is  used  for  rugs. 

Informal  Balance  of  Color.  Broken  Tones. 
Given  an  area  all  black,  brown,  red  or  any  other 
solid  color,  we  may  add  to  its  interest  and  avoid 
its  oppressiveness  by  any  free  breaking  up  of  the 
whole  area  which  will  introduce  an  element  of 
contrast  into  it.  The  result  is  best  when  the  two 
values  or  hues  are  so  interrelated  that  the  result 
is  not  a  pronounced  rivalry  of  two  separate  areas 


COLOR  HARMONY  25a 

of  color,  but  is  instead  a  decided  balance  of  a 
middle  tone. 

In  what  is  spoken  of  as  blue  and  white  china,  the 
blue  is  generally  a  blue  spotted  with  white  instead 
of  a  detached  and  separate  hue.  And  in  border 
bands,  whatever  the  unit,  the  effect  usually  sought 
is  of  one  continuous  middle  tone  rather  than  of  a 
series  of  detached  tones  throughout  the  area.  In 
textiles  of  one  color  the  texture  itself  frequently 
furnishes  this  balance  of  two  colors.  Thus 
monk's  cloth  and  arras  even  in  solid  colors  really 
present  a  vibrating  broken  color  surface  consist- 
ing of  the  play  of  two  tones ;  that  of  the  weave  as 
it  catches  light,  and  that  of  the  weave  as  it  misses 
light  or  is  in  shadow.  Satin,  through  crinkling, 
or  even  when  stretched  flat,  is  so  sensitive  in  its 
texture  that  the  whole  surface  reveals  the  bal- 
anced play  of  subtle  gradations  of  value,  intensity 
and  even  of  hue. 

Informal  Balance  of  Color.  Area  Against 
Area.  We  have  just  considered  balance  through 
the  breaking  up  of  a  total  area  of  one  color  into  a 
tone  of  middle  value  through  the  play  of  two 
colors.  But  there  is  a  different  kind  of  informal 
color  balance.  Consider  the  book  cover.  The 
cover  is  grayed  yellow,  the  lettering  is  black,  and 
there  is  an  ornamental  spot  of  a  third  color.  The 
principle  to  remember  is  that  the  most  forceful 
note  of  contrast  must  be  at  or  near  the  natural 
center  of  interest;  in  this  case,  the  title.  The 
spotting  of  the  oblong  areas  of  lettering  and  of 


254  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  ornament  both  as  regards  the  size  of  each  area 
and  the  amount  of  color  contrast  in  each  is  a 
problem  in  informal  balance.  Top  heaviness,  in- 
terest centered  too  near  the  base,  a  degree  of  in- 
terest in  the  ornamental  spot  which  would  out- 
weigh the  title,  must  be  avoided.  In  informal 
balance  in  fact  every  element  in  the  design  may 
be  regarded  as  having  a  weight  of  interest  result- 
ing from  its  size,  its  character  of  color,  its  con- 
trast with  the  background,  its  line.  The  balance 
of  these  weights  is  by  no  means  simple,  but  the 
effect  of  a  well  balanced  design  in  which  there  is 
this  variety  of  apparently  free  play  is  well  worth 
the  effort.  Persian  illumination,  Chinese  paint- 
ings, Japanese  fans  illustrate  this  type  of  balance. 
*  Balance  of  Hues.  In  the  daisy  we  have  a  for- 
mal balance,  small  white  spots  surrounding  a  cen- 
tral yellow.  In  the  pansy  we  have  an  informal 
balance ;  a  small  central  spot  of  intense  yellow  bal- 
ances the  radiating  violet  tints  or  shades,  or  a 
small  spot  of  intense  violet  balances  radiating  yel- 
lows. The  blue  medallion  of  the  rug  balances  the 
yellows  and  oranges  and  grays  of  the  border. 

Balance  of  Values.  A  design  all  dark  in  value 
would  be  gloomy;  all  light  in  value  it  would  be 
glaring.  In  the  flowers  just  considered  the  yellow 
and  purple  of  the  pansy  balanced  in  value.  The 
yellows  were  very  light,  the  violet  tones  were  very 
dark.  Contrast  of  value  is  more  essential  to  in- 
terest than  contrast  of  hue. 

Balance  of  Intensities.    A  small  spot  of  pure 


COLOR  HARMONY  255 

color  may  outweigh  a  large  area  of  dulled  or 
grayed  color.  For  this  reason,  the  spotting  of 
pure  notes  must  be  very  carefully  considered.  A 
large  unit  at  the  top  of  a  design,  if  too  intense  in 
color,  will  make  the  scheme  top  heavy.  In  a  gen- 
eral sense  it  may  be  said  (a),  that  the  pure  notes 
should  be  smaller  than  the  grayed  notes ;  (b),  that 
the  grays  should  be  used  for  backgrounds  and  the 
purer  color  for  ornament;  (c),  that  the  pure 
notes  may  be  used  symmetrically  or  radially,  but 
if  used  in  informal  balance  they  should  be  at  or 
near  the  logical  center  of  interest. 

Balance  of  Warm  and  Cold.  This  is  observ- 
able in  nature  and  certainly  is  most  desirable  in 
design.  All  warm  is  flushed;  all  cold  tends  to 
chilliness.  The  warm  yellow  balances  the  cold 
purple  of  the  pansy.  The  blue  green  grass  bal- 
ances the  yellow  orange  and  red  of  the  flowers. 
In  painting,  the  great  colorists  have  all  observed 
the  balance  of  cool  and  warm  colors. 

Balance  of  Advancing  and  Receding  Colors. 
In  good  composition  this  balance  is  generally 
sought.  Backgrounds  are,  as  a  rule,  painted  in 
receding  colors,  figures  in  advancing  colors. 
Whether  in  a  dress,  in  a  room  or  in  a  painting,  the 
composition  is  built  upon  this  principle  of  advanc- 
ing and  forceful  color  notes  set  against  supporting 
tones.  A  room  all  in  advancing  colors  would  be 
too  insistent ;  all  in  receding  colors  it  would  prove 
too  self-effacing. 

Analysis  of  Complementaries  as  Regards  Bal- 


256  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ance  of  Contrasts.  If  we  now  examine  any  set 
of  complementary  colors,  we  shall  discover  a 
prime  fact  in  the  study  of  color  combination. 
Consider  yellow  and  blue  for  example.  As  re- 
gards hue  they  are  different  and  yet  there  is  a 
pleasurable  total  effect  because  they  sum  up  as  a 
balanced  unit,  i.  e.,  light,  and  avoid  excessive  stim- 
ulation of  either  set  of  nerve  endings.  As  re- 
gards value  at  their  spectrum  purity  they  balance 
in  their  contrasts;  blue  is  low  in  value,  yellow  is 
high  in  value.  As  regards  warmth,  they  balance 
while  they  contrast.  Yellow  is  very  warm.  Blue 
is  very  cold.  As  regards  activity,  blue  is  reced- 
ing, yellow  is  advancing.  In  a  color  scheme  of 
pure  yellow  and  blue  we  have,  then,  an  extreme 
contrast  or  difference  in  values,  warmth,  activity 
and  hue. 

Danger  of  Rivalry  in  the  Use  of  Complemen- 
taries.  But  complementaries  are  in  danger 
through  their  many  contrasts  of  offending  against 
a  unity  of  effect.  The  logic  of  plan  in  any  of  the 
arts  demands  dominance.  A  two  color  scheme 
with  neither  color  stronger  or  prevailing,  creates 
a  rivalry  in  which  attention  is  pulled  without  a 
rest  point  from  one  to  the  other.  In  check  goods 
or  rugs  where  the  two  colors  are  sufficiently 
broken,  we  arrive  at  a  middle  tone  of  vibrating 
character.  But  where  the  areas  are  large  and  sep- 
arate and  neither  prevails,  the  resulting  shifting 
eye  movements  may  prove  annoying. 

Proportion  Defined.     Proportion  is  a  unifying 


COLOR  HARMONY  257 

element  of  measure  relation  in  the  colors  of  a  de- 
sign. Any  composition,  whatever  the  art,  has  a 
variety  of  elements  in  it.  If  these  bear  the  pro- 
portion of  one  to  one,  in  other  words,  if  they  are 
present  in  equal  parts,  there  is  a  uniformity  of 
measure  which  is  deadly.  Some  element  of  the 
design  should  master  and  control  the  rest,  which 
as  subordinates  serve  to  enhance  its  interest. 
Variety  of  measure  is  not  enough.  The  measure 
should  give  one  a  sense  of  Tightness,  through 
throwing  the  accent  of  interest  on  what  should 
logically  be  dominant.  Not  only  is  it  true,  in  a 
general  sense,  that  the  note  which  logically 
should  be  dominant  is  to  be  made  dominant 
through  receiving  its  proportion  of  interest  in 
character  of  treatment,  mass,  detail,  or  color ;  but 
it  is  also  true  that  in  some  arts  like  cabinet-mak- 
ing and  architecture,  proportion  is  absolutely 
arithmetical.  Thus,  in  a  Greek  temple,  a  Gothic 
cathedral,  a  chest,  or  even  a  title-page  there  may 
be  a  definite  ratio  of  two  to  three  or  some  similar 
formula  running  through  all  the  measures. 

Proportion  in  Quantity  of  Hues.  The  element 
of  proportion  is  very  important  in  estimating  a 
color  harmony.  It  may  be  considered  first  as  the 
actual  quantitative  relation  of  the  colors  in  a  har- 
monious scheme.  How  much  black  is  needed  for 
a  given  area  of  white  ?  How  much  blue  of  a  given 
value  and  intensity  will  balance  so  much  yellow  of 
given  value  and  intensity.  The  answer  according 
to  the  physicist  is  that  when  the  sum  of  the  two 


258  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

produces  gray  the  proportions  are  right.  But  this 
type  of  proportion,  even  if  it  can  be  accurately 
and  mathematically  determined  and  measured, 
must  for  ordinary  purposes  be  summed  up  in  the 
three  propositions  which  can  be  applied  with  the 
trained  eye  as  the  judge. 

1.  Small  areas  of  advancing  colors  of  given  in- 

tensity and  value,  require  proportionally 
larger  areas  of  receding  colors. 

2.  Small  areas  of  intense  colors  of  given  ad- 

vance  and   value   require   proportionally 
large  areas  of  dulled  colors. 

3.  Where  two  or  more  of  the  factors  making  for 

strength  are  in  the  one  color,  a  proportion- 
ally larger  area  of  weaker  color  will  be 
needed  to  balance  its  activity  and  force. 
Proportion  in  Arrangement  of  Hues.  But  be- 
sides the  quantitative  element,  there  is  the  element 
of  arrangement  as  regards  spacing  and  relation 
of  areas.  In  this  connection  the  principle  of  pro- 
portion calls  for  a  feeling  of  measured  relation  in 
the  color  areas.  Analysis  of  a  wall  in  a  room  as 
regards  the  wainscoting,  the  papered  section,  the 
width  of  the  moulding,  the  border  above  reveals 
four  bands  of  color.  These,  no  matter  how  well 
chosen  in  themselves,  may  be  out  of  harmony  if  the 
relation  between  the  width  of  these  panels  is  not 
an  agreeable  one.  To  illustrate  this,  assume  that 
those  four  panels  are  each  exactly  one  fourth  of 
the  height  of  the  wall  and  picture  the  unpleasant 
effect  of  that  uniformity. 


COLOR  HARMONY  259 

Consider  a  page  of  print.  The  printed  area 
mixes  for  the  eye  as  a  middle  gray.  The  margins 
are  so  many  areas  of  white.  The  scheme,  then,  is 
white  and  gray.  Let  the  margins  be  a  quarter  of 
an  inch;  the  proportion  of  white  to  gray  is  poor 
quantitatively  and,  in  addition,  the  lack  of  a  feel- 
ing of  measured  relation  between  the  white  and 
the  grays  will  offend  as  it  wouM  in  the  wall.  In 
an  initial  letter  on  this  same  page  there  will  be  a 
certain  size  of  rectangle  which  will  be  right,  be- 
cause it  will  strike  a  measured  relation  with  the 
white  oblongs  of  the  margins  and  the  larger  rec- 
tangle of  the  gray  print.  Title  pages,  posters, 
buildings,  dresses,  interiors  all  present  problems 
in  the  measured  relation  of  colored  areas. 

Harmony.  Agreeable  Novelty  and  Experi- 
ment. Agreeable  novelty  is  one  of  the  aims  of  all 
artistic  expression  and  this  can  be  arrived  at  only 
through  the  habit  of  experiment.  The  designer 
must  approach  the  dress,  the  room,  the  circular  or 
the  poster  with  a  feeling  that  within  the  sure  foun- 
dation laws  of  harmony,  there  are  new  and  inter-, 
esting  color  arrangements  to  be  discovered.  He 
must  throw  aside  the  obvious  but  commonplace 
first,  second,  third  and  tenth  layout  in  his  search 
for  the  one  which  has  a  note  which  raises  it  above 
the  plane  of  being  merely  adequate. 

The  average  designer  competing  for  a  poster 
does  not  seem  to  realize  that  the  first  idea  which 
occurs  to  him  may  have  occurred  to  a  hundred 
others  who  are  submitting  their  work,  that  his 


260  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

mere  skill  in  lettering  neatly  or  drawing  correctly 
may  be  matched  by  many  in  that  hundred,  and  that 
his  success  or  failure  as  a  high-grade  designer  will 
depend  upon  his  avoiding  the  obvious,  the  com- 
monplace, the  undistinguished.  Just  as  there  are 
tens  of  thousands,  probably  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  people  who  play  the  violin,  but  only  a  limited 
number  worth  listening  to  in  concerts,  so  there  are 
thousands  of  commercial  artists  and  artistic  print- 
ers with  only  a  very  occasional  one  who  can  do  a 
job  which  is  more  than  commonplace.  In  color 
expression  as  in  any  other  art  there  is  room  for 
the  personal  equation,  for  experiment  and  for 
novelty  in  combination  and  arrangement,  which 
will  not  be  at  the  expense  of  taste. 

Great  artists  were  frequently  criticized  as  sen- 
sationalists at  the  beginning  of  their  careers,  yet 
one  function  of  all  great  art  has  been  to  provide 
the  world  with  new  and  interesting  sensations. 
These  have  in  a  way  extended  the  boundaries  of 
experience.  In  painting,  the  chiaroscuro  in  a  Da 
Vinci,  the  atmosphere  in  a  Velasquez  or  a  Ver- 
meer,  the  sense  of  space  in  a  Lorraine  or  a  Tur- 
ner, the  sunlight  in  Monet  were  all  contributions  of 
a  somewhat  sensational  character,  distinguished 
by  novelty  from  the  commonplace  repetition  of 
impersonal  work  which  finds  no  place  in  art  his- 
tory. 

Originality  is  not  a  crime.  Nor  is  the  straining 
after  it  a  mistake  in  color  expression,  if  only  it  is 
based  on  a  foundation  of  taste  and  knowledge. 


COLOR  HARMONY  261 

The  law  of  contrast  works  peculiarly.  A  given 
color  effect  may  have  stimulated  attention  at  one 
time  through  the  contrasts  which  it  presented  to 
the  eye  and  mind,  contrasts  of  value,  hue,  intensity 
and  texture.  Though  such  a  scheme  were  to  rep- 
resent, on  tabulation,  maximum  efficiency  of  agree- 
able contrast  within  itself,  if  that  scheme  became 
so  common  that  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  post- 
ers were  using  approximately  the  same  type  of 
spacing  and  color  combinations,  it  would  lose  its 
effect.  The  law  of  contrast  operates  not  only 
within  the  one  work  but  between  one  work  and 
all  other  works  in  the  same  category.  As  a  result 
the  designer  who  aims  to  catch  and  hold  attention 
must  constantly  experiment  and  search  for  nov- 
elty. 


CHAPTEE  XI 
CONTRASTING  COLOE  SCHEMES 

Contrasts  in  Nature.  In  the  night,  at  dawn  and 
at  twilight,  color  is  gray,  quiet,  subdued  and  rest- 
ful; but  at  high  noon,  when  the  sun  is  burning 
fiercely  bright  in  the  blue  sky,  the  yellow  sand,  the 
brown  tree  trunk,  the  red  hull  of  the  boat,  the 
greenish  water,  the  white  sails,  all  stand  out  clear 
and  sharp  in  their  contrasts.  Force  and  move- 
ment which  we  feel  in  the  massing  waves,  the 
ridges  of  the  sand,  the  tossing  of  the  boat,  the  flap- 
ping of  the  sails,  are  expressed  also  by  the  intens- 
ity and  violence  of  the  color  contrasts. 

Just  as  nature  when  she  is  forceful  is  also  pow- 
erfully colorful,  so  art  when  it  seeks  to  be  dy- 
namic, to  catch  and  hold  attention,  must  resort  to 
intense  hues.  The  fence  poster  which  is  to  influ- 
ence the  automobilist  speeding  by,  the  chorus  cos- 
tumes which  are  to  stimulate  the  tired  business 
clerk  in  the  gallery,  the  national  flags  which  are  to 
stir  the  emotions  of  the  populace,  these  must  be 
rich  in  color  and  strong  in  contrast. 

If  harmony  is  to  be  obtained  in  color  schemes 
based  on  extreme  contrasts  it  will  be  only  with 
great  difficulty  and  sure  knowledge. 

Color  "Refinement"  and  Color  Timidity.    A 

262 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES         263 

poor  colorist  may  hide  his  ignorance  behind  vague 
grays.  Amateurs  taught  water  color  or  chalk 
drawing  are  given  tinted  sheets  which  enable  them 
to  secure  easy  harmonies  by  throwing  the  common 
tint  of  the  paper  into  every  color  applied.  Most 
people  to-day  avoid  pure  colors  in  large  masses. 
They  have  grown  up  in  subdued  schemes  and  hav- 
ing been  taught  to  prefer  subdued  schemes  they 
end  by  believing  that  strong  colors  are  neces- 
sarily vulgar  and  coarse.  But  that  pure  colors  may 
be  most  beautiful  and  expressive  of  good  taste,  if 
used  with  knowledge,  a  study  of  Persian  illumina^ 
tion,  of  Oriental  rugs,  of  eighteenth  century  palace 
art,  of  Chinese  pottery  will  amply  prove.  Al- 
though it  is  true,  as  we  have  seen,  that  pure  colors 
juxtaposed  are  insistently  contrasting,  there  are 
ways  of  introducing  a  unifying  element  which 
will  bind  and  hold  them.  Strength,  unless  con- 
trolled, is  always  in  danger  of  verging  on  brutal- 
ity, but  that  is  no  reason  why  strength  is  to  be 
taboo. 

The  maximum  contrast  in  color  schemes  is  se- 
cured through  the  simultaneous  contrast  of  pure 
complementaries.  But  complementaries,  though 
they  sum  up  as  balanced  retinal  stimulation,  tend 
to  be  over-sharp,  insistent  and  irritating.  Some 
of  the  conditions  to  be  remembered  in  employing 
them,  and  the  means  by  which  their  disagreeable 
features  can  be  modified  in  the  interest  of  har- 
mony, are  problems  to  which  this  chapter  de- 
votes itself. 


264  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Mood  of  Contrasting  Color  Schemes.  A  con- 
trasting harmony,  strong,  sharp  and  clear,  should 
be  chosen  only  when  force,  snap  and  energy  enter 
into  the  mood  to  be  suggested.  In  advertising 
perfumes,  one  would  hardly  expect  a  color  scheme 
of  strongly  contrasting  blue,  green  and  red.  On 
a  booklet  cover  advertising  machinery  one  would 
be  surprised  to  find  gray  and  gray  green,  pale 
pink  and  silver.  In  each  case  the  display  rooms 
and  offices  of  the  firms  might  likewise  be  expected 
to  avoid  the  incongruity  of  a  color  scheme  out  of 
harmony  with  the  associations  of  the  commodities 
offered. 

A  recent  issue  of  The  Iron  Age  had  as  a  decora- 
tive frame  for  the  lettering  of  the  title,  a  broad 
area  of  light  grays  and  pale  pinks.  Only  the  clos- 
est study  enabled  one  to  see  that  the  border  was 
not  a  gentle  spring  poem  composed  of  blossoms 
and  atmosphere,  but  a  conventionalized  treatment 
of  factories.  That  cover  should  rather  have  been 
strong  in  contrast  to  suggest  force.  Banking  cir- 
culars should  suggest  stability;  exotic  coloring 
would  be  out  of  place  in  them.  Strong  contrasts 
of  pure  colors  would  fail  to  suggest  the  novelty 
and  exquisiteness  of  a  perfume.  A  poster  for 
a  melodramatic  movie  scenario  might  properly  be 
extreme  in  contrasts.  The  emotional  climax  of  a 
play  might  be  given  a  stage  setting  in  intense  con- 
trasting colors,  but  the  witticisms  and  badinage  of 
a  conversational  scene  would  need  a  more  sophis- 
ticated and  subtle  setting.  In  each  case  the 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES         265 

color  mood,  whether  of  strong  contrast,  of  reduced 
contrast,  or  of  close  analogy,  is  dictated  in  part 
by  the  mood  or  association  which  is  proper  to 
the  thing  decorated. 

The  Time  Element  in  Contrasting  Harmony. 
A  factor  in  the  choice  of  a  color  scheme  should 
be  the  element  of  time  exposure.  Eeople  speak 
about  plays  that  can  be  seen  again  or  novels  that 
will  bear  rereading,  and  even  of  pictures  with 
which  one  can  live,  but  the  power  of  certain  color 
combinations  to  remain  pleasing,  the  tendency  of 
other  color  combinations  to  grow  increasingly  irri- 
tating is  a  fact  usually  ignored. 

It  was  seen  how  any  one  color  tended  to  fatigue 
the  nerve  endings  responding  to  that  color. 
Hence  the  very  first  application  of  the  principle  of 
time  exposure  in  harmony  is  that  any  single  color 
without  contrast  will  prove  tiring  if  used  on  a  sur- 
face where  it  will  remain  in  view  a  long  time. 
The  larger  the  area  the  more  tiring  would  be  the 
effect.  The  monotony  of  tiled  floors,  ceilings,  and 
walls  so  typical  of  many  lunch  rooms  makes  loung- 
ing impossible.  Few  people  ever  linger  to  chat  or 
to  read  their  papers  in  one  of  those  eye-chilling 
places.  Though  the  glare  of  the  tiles  adds  to  the 
inhospitality  of  all  white  rooms,  any  other  solid 
color  used  so  extensively  would  prove  disturbing. 
The  retina  seems  to  demand  some  contrast  and  va- 
riety in  so  large  an  area. 

Two  contrasting  colors  may  be  very  strongly 
contrasting  when  they  are  to  be  in  view  only  a 


266  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

short  while,  as,  for  example,  the  fence  poster  on 
the  street,  the  costumes  of  two  dancers  on  the 
stage,  the  cover  of  a  circular  which  must  "get  its 
punch  oyer"  at  the  one  reading  because  in  its  very 
nature  it  is  not  likely  to  be  kept  lying  around. 
But  in  a  room  interior  one  must  carefully  estimate 
whether  the  first  impression  of  agreeable  stimula- 
tion and  novelty  will  not  give  way  to  a  feeling  of 
fatigue  through  the  over-insistence  of  the  colors 
used.  A  powerfully  contrasting  scheme  with  ri- 
valry in  the  two  color  areas  at  its  maximum  will 
catch  the  attention,  but  there  are  few  effects  in 
color  more  irritating,  if  kept  in  the  field  of  vision 
for  any  length  of  time. 

Distance  and  Contrasting  Color  Schemes. 
Shaw  said  of  the  Impressionists  that  they  asked 
the  gallery  visitors  to  stand  fourteen  feet  from 
the  pictures  instead  of  four,  and  that  this  change 
of  focal  distance  created  a  revolution  in  art.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  then,  the  Impressionist  scheme  is 
a  simple  and  pleasing  enough  harmony,  which 
would  never  have  offended  its  early  critics,  if  they 
could  have  been  persuaded  to  stand  far  enough 
off.  In  this  statement  he  has  hit  upon  an  impor- 
tant principle  in  color  harmony,  realizing  as  he 
does  the  effect  of  distance  in  reducing  the  sharper 
contrasts  of  pure  colors.  Just  as  the  grand  opera 
singer  requires  the  opera  house  and  can  rarely  if 
ever  adapt  his  interpretations  to  the  intimacies  of 
a  recital  chamber,  just  as  a  lyric  singer  should 
properly  never  give  a  recital  in  an  opera  house,  so, 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES        267 

too,  color  schemes  have  their  appropriate  optic 
range.  The  color  schemes  which  look  so  well  in 
the  Russian  Ballet  were  never  meant  to  be  used 
as  they  are  being  used  by  some  decorators  for 
intimate  interiors,  in  rooms  sixteen  by  twenty 
feet;  nor  are  the  colors  of  the  Bakst  costumes 
meant  for  afternoon  tea  gowns  in  small  studios 
where  they  lack  the  distance  which  is  necessary  to 
blend  them.  Stage  effects  are  meant  to  carry  to 
the  gallery.  They  are  not  appropriate  at  close 
range. 

Outdoors,  building  fagades,  show  windows  and 
posters,  may  all  have  recourse  to  the  stronger  con- 
trasts. Indoors,  theatrical  settings  and  costumes 
may  also  be  treated  in  strong  contrast;  but  the 
close-up  color  effects  which  are  to  be  kept  in  view 
for  any  length  of  time,  if  large  in  area,  had  best 
be  kept  more  restrained. 

Function  and  Contrasting  Color  Schemes. 
Since  strong  contrast  accentuates  and  draws  at- 
tention to  itself,  it  becomes  obvious  that  it  should 
be  reserved  for  the  points  of  prime  interest,  and 
that  it  should  be  particularly  avoided  where  the 
attention  is  not  to  be  f  ocussed. 

For  this  reason,  floor  coverings  should  re- 
ceive a  minimum  of  strongly  contrasting  colors. 
The  Chinese  rug  with  its  black  irregular  pattern 
on  a  golden  ground  is,  in  spite  of  its  rich  beauty, 
a  false  note  in  most  room  interiors.  It  is  gen- 
erally impossible  to  graduate  up  from  this  to  ever- 
increasing  and  more  interesting  contrasts.  That 


268  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

a  purse  should  carry  its  strongest  contrast  of  color 
accent  at  the  clasp,  a  gown  at  the  neck,  a  book- 
cover  at  the  title,  are  a  few  of  the  simple  corol- 
laries of  the  principle  of  fitness  to  function  in 
contrasting  color  harmony. 

Black  and  White.  Extreme  Value  Contrast. 
A  color  scheme  based  on  black  and  white  repre- 
sents the  most  extreme  contrast  of  values  possible. 
The  commercial  artist  or  business  man  eager  to 
economize  in  his  advertising  (for  color  printing 
is  expensive)  may  secure  considerable  force  and 
attention-holding  power  through  a  judicious  use  of 
black  and  white.  It  is  essential  to  the  effective- 
ness of  these  colors  that  they  appear  in  large  sep- 
arate areas,  for  if  they  are  present  only  in  small 
spots,  the  result  is  a  broken  gray.  The  soft  gray 
of  the  newspaper  copy  is  composed  of  the  same 
two  colors,  as  are  the  headings.  But  the  large 
masses  of  the  black  ink  in  the  headings  set  against 
larger  whites  are  the  interest-arousing  factors. 

Even  a  newspaper  as  conservative  as  the  New 
York  Times  still  realizes  the  drawing  power  of 
well-planned  news  captions  on  the  front  page. 
Eecently  a  morning  paper  coming  out  for  the 
first  time  under  new  auspices  was  handed  to  the 
writer.  As  he  glanced  at  this  newspaper  and 
then  at  the  Times  beside  it  on  the  stand,  there  was 
something  about  the  contrast  of  the  Times  head- 
lines which  made  the  news  there  seem  more  im- 
portant than  that  conveyed  by  the  grayer,  more 
uniform  captions  of  the  other.  The  value  of  a 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES 

good  understanding  of  black  and  white  contrast 
even  in  a  " refined"  journal  is  one  which  the  cir- 
culation manager  of  the  new  sheet  could  well  have 
afforded  to  look  into. 

Black  and  white  schemes,  then,  are  undoubtedly 
effective,  but  are  they  harmonious  1  As  color  they 
will  not  produce  over-stimulation  of  the  retina. 
If  annoying  or  irritating  it  will  be  on  account  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  spotting  or  the  insistence 
of  the  contours.  Moreover,  weakness  of  design 
as  regards  grace  or  construction  will  show  sooner 
in  a  black  silhouette  than  in  a  pale  gray  one.  So, 
too,  will  poor  quality  of  proportion  in  the  mar- 
gins and  masses  of  a  printed  page.  Poor  placing 
of  caption  lines  and  indentions  will  show  up  more 
prominently  where  the  printing  is  in  the  large 
black  type.  Poor  proportions  of  white  to  black, 
poor  placing  of  the  line  or  two  of  lettering,  will 
shriek  out  aloud  in  a  black  and  white  poster. 
Where  the  surface  decorated  is  large  and  seen  at 
close  range,  as  in  a  floor,  large  black  and  white 
tiles,  unless  broken  up  by  rugs,  may  become  an- 
iioyingly  insistent.  A  broad  black  and  white 
striped  shirt-waist  may  look  well  on  the  tennis 
court,  but  it  is  too  pronounced  in  a  sitting  room. 

Black  and  white  may  become  irritating  in  their 
effectiveness  although  their  proportions  and 
scale  be  just,  if  the  lines  bounding  the  white  and 
black  areas  add  too  much  to  the  effectiveness. 
Thus  black  and  white  checks  and  stripes  tend  to 
be  rather  dazzling,  causing  a  constant  shifting  of 


270  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  eyes,  and  a  black  and  white  design  composed 
of  swirling  lines  may  be  as  unpleasantly  exciting 
as  a  merry-go-round  moving  too  rapidly. 

Academic  art  teachers  are  fearful  of  permitting 
their  pupils  to  take  up  painting  before  draughts- 
manship has  been  well  studied  in  black  and  white 
because  they  are  convinced,  and  with  much  jus- 
tice, that  the  blandishments  of  variety  in  hue  can 
easily  blind  one  to  weaknesses  in  construction  or 
in  proportion,  which  stand  out  so  clearly  in  the  un- 
relieved black  and  white. 

The  Time  Element  in  Black  and  White  Har- 
mony. The  show  rooms  of  one  of  the  leading 
oostumers  in  New  York  are  in  large  black  and 
white  checks  carried  out  consistently  throughout 
the  furnishings.  The  first  impression  is  rather 
attractive.  As  the  contrasts  are  wholly  of  value, 
and  no  other  contrasting  elements  enter,  there  is 
an  easily  perceived  unity  within  the  contrast  which 
pleases.  But  any  person  who  is  unstable  of 
nerves,  will  soon  find  those  black  and  white 
squares  shriekingly  insistent ;  the  most  stolid  will 
find  a  spirit  of  unrest  mastering  them. 

Black  and  white  kept  strongly  contrasting  in 
area  will  not  wear  well  as  a  room  scheme  or  in  any 
place  where  the  eye  will  be  obliged  to  deal  with  the 
areas  a  long  while. 

Black  and  One  Color.  If  one  color  is  to  be  used 
with  black  alone  (or  in  a  scheme  where  black  pre- 
dominates and  contrast  is  desired)  it  is  obvious 
that  the  high-pitched  warm  colors  are  preferable. 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES        271 

Pale  yellow  would  hardly  be  worth  while  as  the 
great  contrast  in  value  would  make  it  seem  almost 
white.  Red  or  orange  or  a  deep  rich  yellow  (quite 
often  gold)  would  be  most  striking.  These  used 
pure  are  at  the  same  time  balancing  colors,  com- 
plementing the  low  value,  the  passivity  and  cold- 
ness of  black.  Black  at  the  same  time  enhances 
and  enriches  the  warmth  and  glow  of  these  colors. 
A  color  used  with  black  should  preferably  be  full 
in  intensity  as  well  as  high  in  value. 

In  balancing  a  scheme  of  black  and  one  color 
it  must  be  remembered  that  black  in  its  depth  of 
value  suggests  weight.  A  little  Greenwich  Vil- 
lage dining-room  was  designed  with  orange  walls 
and  a  black  ceiling.  The  black  ceiling,  intended  as 
it  was  to  set  off  the  light  of  large  lamps  glowing 
like  harvest  moons,  was  so  heavy  that  it  seemed  to 
rest  right  on  the  heads  of  the  occupants. 

Black  and  blue,  black  and  green,  or  black  and 
violet  are  rather  depressing,  unless  the  second 
color  in  each  case  is  high  in  value  and  quite  pure, 
or  unless  the  textures  are  quite  rich,  glossy  or  in 
some  way  highly  attractive. 

White  and  One  Color.  If  one  color  is  to  be 
used  with  white,  which  is  relatively  warm,  it  will 
be  found  that  for  strong  contrast  obviously  the 
dark  cool  colors,  blue,  green  and  violet  are  best. 
Blue  and  white  is  the  famous  combination  in  pot- 
tery. The  sailor  waist,  and  the  blue  and  white 
striped  pattern  demonstrate  the  effectiveness  of 
this  scheme.  The  white  clouds  in  the  blue  sky, 


272  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  white  sails  on  the  blue  sea,  also  illustrate  the 
appeal  of  blue  and  white.  Blue  and  white  com- 
bine better  than  green  and  white  because  white  in 
its  gradations  varies  from  yellowish  high  lights, 
complementary  to  blue,  to  yellow  bluish  half  tones 
and  shadows  blending  into  blue. 

Here  as  in  the  case  of  black  and  one  color,  value 
contrast  is  most  essential  to  interest  and  effec- 
tiveness. The  printer  who  uses  a  pale  yellow  on 
a  white  ground  is  adding  to  the  cost  of  a  job 
and  simultaneously  reducing  its  value.  For  yel- 
low print  can  hardly  be  read  on  a  white  ground. 
Similarly  black  ink  on  a  brown  or  dark  blue 
or  dark  green  stock  will  be  almost  illegible.  Once 
again  it  may  be  repeated  that  more  important 
than  contrast  of  hue  is  contrast  of  value. 

Two  Color  Schemes.  If  a  contrasting  scheme 
is  to  be  limited  to  two  colors,  complementaries 
make  a  good  starting-point,  but  these  as  we  have 
seen  may  make  for  irritation  and  sharpness  of  ef- 
fect through  their  many  contrasting  elements. 
How  can  a  two  color  complementary  scheme  be  so 
modified  that  its  contrasts  of  hues,  value,  warmth 
and  activity  will  be  preserved  and  yet  be  suffi- 
ciently reduced  to  avoid  shock? 

Modes  for  Harmonizing  Complementaries. 
Blue  and  Yellow. — 1.  Dulling  the  Blue  by  Adding 
Yellow.  Yellow  added  to  the  blue  by  mixture 
dulls  and  grays  it.  The  yellow  area  loses  some- 
thing of  its  intensity  through  the  reduced  contrast. 
And  the  blue  is  now  higher  in  value  somewhat 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES         273 

nearer  yellow  in  hue,  as  well  as  somewhat  nearer 
yellow  in  warmth. 

2.  Dulling  the  Yellow  by  Adding  Blue.    Where 
the  yellow  is  the  larger  area  it  may  be  advisable 
to  dull  the  yellow  rather  than  the  blue.    Yellow 
is  now  closer  to  blue  in  value,  hue  and  coolness. 

3.  Dulling  Both.    If  each  color  is  slightly  dulled 
by  mixture  with  the  other,  contrast  will  still  be 
present.    This  is  advisable  where  both  areas  are 
quite  large,   and  the   rivalry  must  be   avoided. 
Dulling  both  brings  each  some  part  of  the  way 
towards  the  other,  considerably  lessening  the  con- 
trast.   However,  if  both  are  too  much  dulled,  as  in 
the  graying  of  colors  at  twilight,  contrast  disap- 
pears and  analogous  or  related  harmony  is  the 
result. 

4.  Checking  or  Spotting.    Keeping  both  pure 
in  an  interplay  of  small  spots  or  checks  of  each 
creates  a  vibrating  area  of  middle  tone.    If  these 
spots  become  too  small,  the  result  is  a  blended 
middle  tone  in  which  contrasts  are  lost,  as  in 
stippling  or  " pepper  and  salt"  effects. 

5.  Reducing  the  Value  of  the  Yellow.    When 
the  yellow  is  made  lower  in  value,  by  adding  black, 
its  contrast  with  the  blue  is  reduced  by  just  that 
much.    If  the  yellow  is  too  much  reduced  in  value, 
the  strength  of  the  contrast  may  disappear. 

6.  Raising    the    Value    of   the   Blue.    Adding 
white  to  the  blue  brings  it  close  to  the  pure  yellow, 
in  value,  but  here  too  there  is  danger  of  losing  the] 
strength  of  the  contrast. 


274  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Complementary  Schemes  in  Two  Colors.  It 
would  seem  then  that  any  two  complementaries,  a 
and  b,  can  be  made  less  shrill  in  their  contrasts  by 

1.  dulling  (a)  by  admixture  of  (b) 

2.  dulling  (b)  by  admixture  of  (a) 

3.  dulling  both  (a)  and  (b) 

4.  spotting  (a)  with  (b) 

5.  spotting  (b)  with  (a) 

6.  spotting  (a)  with  (b)  and  (b)  with  (a)  as 

in  a  Kermanshah  rug. 

7.  Reducing   the   value   of   the   high-pitched 

color. 

8.  Raising  the  value  of  the  low-pitched  color. 
Any  one  of  the  above  methods  may,  however, 

when  the  contrasts  are  sufficiently  reduced,  bring 
the  scheme  into  the  field  of  analogous  harmony 
where  the  emphasis  is  on  the  agreeable  likeness  of 
the  colors  rather  than  on  their  interesting  differ- 
ences. 

Rivalry.  Rivalry  is  almost  inevitable  in  a  com- 
plementary scheme  in  which  the  colors  are  used 
pure  and  of  even  areas,  unless  methods  4,  5  and  6 
are  used  to  bind  the  two  areas.  In  a  room  con- 
ceived in  blue  and  orange,  where  there  is  danger 
of  rivalry  between  the  blue  walls  and  the  orange 
:method  3  would  be  used  in  the  selection  of  a 
dulled  blue  and  a  dulled  orange.  In  addition 
the  hangings  could  be  of  changeable  texture  in 
which  the  blue  and  the  orange  would  interplay ;  or 
if  of  less  subtle  texture,  the  shadows  in  the  soft 
folds  would  be  bluish.  The  walls,  on  the  other 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES         275 

hand,  could  have  pictures  of  orange  and  blue 
tones.  These  treatments  of  hangings  and  wall- 
covering would  fall  under  method  6. 

Dominance  in  Two  Complementary  Colors.  In 
that  room,  however,  either  the  blue  or  the  orange 
would  have  to  be  the  dominant  note.  If  the 
furniture,  the  hangings,  the  pictures  and  their 
frames,  the  rugs,  the  ceiling  and  pottery  were  all 
to  run  to  red,  gold,  orange  and  yellow,  in  vary- 
ing values  and  intensities,  and  the  note  was  to  be 
dominantly  orange,  the  blue  would  act  as  the  sub- 
ordinate background  note,  the  stage  setting  for 
the  action  of  the  dominant  color.  If  blue  were 
to  be  made  dominant,  the  hangings  could  be  blue 
with  an  orange  sheen  or  trimming,  the  upholstery 
of  the  chairs  would  be  blue,  as  would  also  the 
pottery  and  the  tones  of  the  ceiling.  In  this  case 
the  room  would  be  a  cool  blue  room  with  decora- 
tive touches  of  orange  to  set  it  off. 

Two  Colors  and  Black.  Where  there  is  a  two 
color  scheme  like  yellow  and  blue  and  the  high 
pitched  color  yellow  predominates,  black  can  be 
used  either  by  admixture  to  gray  this  high  pitched 
color,  or  by  spotting  to  produce  broken  tones. 
The  black  added  to  the  yellow  by  spotting  in- 
creases the  variety  but  makes  for  reduced  contrast 
by  lowering  the  values,  warmth,  and  activity  of 
yellow,  bringing  it  closer  to  blue.  Too  much  black 
added  to  the  yellow  would  tend  towards  an- 
alogous harmony. 

Black  added  to  the  blue  or  used  as  a  separate 


276  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

area  of  color  would  increase  the  color  contrast, 
by  enlarging  the  area  of  dark  passive  color. 

Two  Colors  and  White.  When  a  dark  color, 
green,  blue  or  violet  predominates,  white  may  be 
used  by  admixture  to  reduce  the  value  of  the  dark 
blue  or  as  a  third  color  to  break  up  the  dark  area. 

Contrasting  Schemes  of  Three  or  More  Colors. 
A  blue  wallpaper  and  a  solid  golden  yellow  hang- 
ing may  seem  to  be  a  scheme  of  blue  and  yellow. 
But  the  .hanging  will  vary  through  its  draping  and 
the  character  of  its  texture  from  shrill  yellow  in 
the  high  light  through  yellow-orange  to  orange 
to  orange-red.  If  this  scheme  is  reversed  and  the 
wall  is  a  flat  golden  tone,  the  hanging  of  blue  will 
vary  from  a  shrill  blue  to  blue  to  blue-green  to 
green  to  yellow-greens. 

This  natural  gradation  within  any  given  color 
suggests  the  basis  on  which  contrasting  schemes 
of  three  or  more  colors  may  best  be  worked  out. 
The  contrast  is  kept  a  contrast  of  complementaries 
in  the  main,  except  that  on  one  side,  either  in  the 
small  area  of  accepted  decoration,  or  in  the  large 
area  of  dominant  hue,  the  complementary  note 
runs  through  a  number  of  related  hues. 

Thus  a  blue  and  yellow  scheme  might  be 

1.  Dominantly  Blue          Large   Area  Small  Area. 

blue  yellow 

blue-green 
green 
blue- violet 
violet 


CONTRASTING  COLOR  SCHEMES 


277 


2.  Dominantly  Blue 


3.  Dominantly  Yellow 


4.  Dominantly  Yellow 


Large  Area 
blue 


Large  Area 
yellow 


Small  Area 
yellow 

yellow-orange 
orange 
yellow-green 
green 

blue 

blue-green 

green 

blue-violet 

violet 

Small  Area 

blue 


Large  Area 
yellow 
yellow-orange 
orange 
yellow-green 
green 

In  like  manner  plausible  schemes  for  blue-green 
and  red,  green  and  violet  can  be  worked  out  on 
this  basis.  But  once  again  the  reader  must  be 
reminded  that  so  very  much  depends  upon  the 
exact  value,  intensities  and  arrangement  of  all 
the  hues  in  any  of  these  schemes. 


CHAPTER  XV 
ANALOGOUS  COLOE  SCHEMES 

Quiet  Color  Schemes  in  Nature.  Contrasting 
color  schemes  are  those  in  which  the  emphasis  is 
upon  the  variety,  which  is  sometimes  strained  to 
the  point  of  discord.  In  analogous  harmony  the 
emphasis  is  upon  a  well  observed  unity,  which  is 
in  danger  of  monotony  or  uniformity.  In  the 
former  chapter  means  were  considered  for  achiev- 
ing unity,  in  spite  of  great  contrast  and  variety  in 
the  colors.  In  the  present  chapter  the  problem 
is  that  of  obtaining  color  interest  and  variety, 
in  spite  of  an  almost  obvious  unity  or  close  rela- 
tionship in  the  colors  used. 

It  was  observed  how  forceful  and  dynamic  na- 
ture seems  when  her  colors  are  strongly  contrast- 
ing. High  noon,  is  usually  marked  by  shrill,  in- 
tense high  value  colors  set  off  by  shadows  cool 
and  dark.  The  sun  goes  down  after  the  storm  in 
a  blaze  of  glory,  with  brilliant  blues  and  reds  and 
oranges,  set  off  by  dark  bands  of  violet  clouds. 
But  the  trembling  grays  of  dawn,  the  spectral 
violets  of  twilight,  these  and  the  soft  grays  of 
night  in  the  country,  are  schemes  in  which  colors 
are  closely  related  and  a  strong  dominant  note  of 
gray,  soft  blue  or  soft  violet  permeates  the  atmos- 

278 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  279 

phere  and  bathes  all  its  forms.  The  colors  of  a 
wet  drizzly  day,  of  a  luminous  gray  day;  or  in  a 
higher  key,  the  hues  of  mother-of-pearl  or  opal — 
these  are  all  examples  of  analogous  harmony  in 
nature. 

Sensitive  people,  who  dislike  glare  and  blare, 
force  and  swift  movement,  are  naturally  fond  of 
the  charms  of  analogous  harmonies,  of  mists,  of 
drizzly  grays  and  of  the  twilight  hour.  Analo- 
gous colors  though  closely  related  possess  a  subtle 
and  tender  but  none  the  less  deep  appeal  to  the 
lover  of  nature. 

Schemes  in  Close  Grays.  If  one  is  seeking  re- 
finement in  color  harmony,  eager  for  a  marked 
likeness  with  the  minimum  of  contrasts,  no  easier 
way  can  be  found  than  harmonizing  in  grays  of 
black  and  white.  For  black  and  white  schemes, 
though  they  present  the  maximum  contrast  of 
value,  involve  no  contrast  of  warmth  or  hue.  If 
this  value  contrast  is  reduced  through  the  choice 
of  grays  closely  related  in  value,  we  have  quite 
obviously  analogous  schemes.  With  black  use 
dark  gray,  with  white  use  light  grays ;  with  middle 
gray  use  light  or  dark  gray;  and  one  has  har- 
monies almost  too  close  in  their  likeness  to  be 
pleasing  and  effective. 

Striped  wall-paper  in  close  values  of  gray  may 
be  used  for  sleeping  rooms,  for  here  the  element 
of  interest  and  attention-holding  power  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  But  in  textiles  where  gray  is  the 
color  desired  and  yet  its  quiet  and  sober  effect  is- 


280  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

to  be  offset,  a  note  of  liveliness  can  be  created  by 
the  spotting.  In  plaids  and  checks  and  close 
weaves  of  two  grays  there  is  in  addition  to  the 
movement  of  lines  vertical,  horizontal  and  diag- 
onal, an  element  of  vibration,  which  tends  to  en- 
liven the  effect.  Silver-point  etching,  charcoal 
drawing,  pencil,  pen  and  ink  drawing  reveal  how 
much  pleasure  may  reside  in  the  agreeable  bal- 
ance of  close  values  of  gray. 

Rhythmic  Gradation  in  Close  Values  of  Gray. 
If  close  grays  are  unobtrusive  in  check  and  stripe, 
how  much  softer  and  still  more  subtle  are  they  in 
gradation.  Look  very  closely  at  the  border  of  this 
page.  See  how  almost  imperceptibly  the  values 
of  that  white  vary  and  fluctuate  even  for  the 
smallest  area.  Through  the  slight  swelling  of  the 
page  as  it  lies  there  loosely,  every  part  of  it  re- 
flects light  at  a  different  angle,  so  modifying  its 
own  value.  Look  at  a  gray  wall.  Observe  that  it 
is  more  truly  a  wall  of  many  grays  each  playing 
softly  into  the  other. 

Paneling,  Checking,  Gradation  of  Grays.  Color 
schemes  in  grays,  although  tending  to  monotony 
may  be  made  interesting  through  skillful  panel- 
ing, in  which  case  the  proportion  of  areas  adds  a 
note  of  interesting  variety;  through  checking, 
which  makes  for  vibration;  and  through  grada- 
tion. 

Vibration.  The  term  vibration  as  used 
throughout  refers  to  the  effect  of  slight  fluctua- 
tions in  light  and  color  which  are  due  to  shifting 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  281 

muscular  movements  of  the  eye.  Granular  sur- 
faces, woven  surfaces,  stipple,  very  small  checks 
present  an  interplay  of  two  or  more  colors  the  ef- 
fect of  which  is  referred  to  as  vibrating. 

Balance  of  Color  with  Grays.  Although 
schemes  in  gray  balance  as  quiet  light,  (since  the 
grays  are  theoretically  mixtures  of  the  hues  con- 
tained in  light)  and  a  balanced  stimulation  of  the 
retinal  area  may  therefore  be  counted  on,  a  de- 
sign in  grays  will  always  be  enhanced  in  interest 
if  supplemented  by  a  positive  hue.  The  printed 
page  and  some  forms  of  graphic  art  such  as  etch- 
ing are  examples  of  unrelieved  grays ;  but  in  inte- 
riors, dress  goods  and  furniture,  the  grays  supply 
the  broad  background  of  quiet  relief  for  the  more 
effective  spotting  of  the  centers  of  interest  which 
are  in  color. 

What  colors  would  go  best  with  grays,  cool 
colors,  or  warm  colors;  advancing  colors  or  re- 
ceding colors?  As  the  grays  in  their  lack  of  hue 
are  neutral,  that  is,  neither  warm  nor  cold,  and  as 
they  tend  moreover  in  their  quiet  and  lack  of  con- 
trast to  be  retiring  or  receding,  it  would  seem  that 
except  for  special  effects,  warm  advancing  colors 
would  serve  to  offset  their  passivity  and  coolness 
and  tend  to  add  gaiety  and  force  to  the  scheme. 
A  slight  preponderance  in  favor  of  warmth  in  a 
color  scheme  is  generally  desirable,  even  though 
the  aim  of  the  effect  as  a  whole  is  a  refreshing 
coolness. 

Are  Harmonies  in  One  Color  Possible?    Self- 


282  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Tones.  How  can  one  secure  a  color  scheme  based 
upon  a  single  hue?  Can  a  design  be  built  on  yel- 
lows and  yet  avoid  the  monotony  of  a  dead  uni- 
formity? Is  there  any  opportunity  for  variety 
within  a  single  color?  If  it  is  all  yellow,  there 
will  of  course  be  no  variety  in  hue.  But  there 
may  be  variety  of  value  and  of  intensity  which 
would  carry  with  it  variety  of  warmth  and  activ- 
ity. In  other  words  a  room  may  be  designed  in 
varying  tints  and  shades  and  intensities  of  yel- 
low. 

Variations  of  one  hue  are  spoken  as  4<  self- 
tones. M  A  color  scheme  built  upon  self -tones 
closely  related  in  values  and  intensities  will  re- 
semble schemes  of  closely  related  grays,  and  all 
that  was  said  concerning  grays  will  apply  equally 
here. 

Rhythm  and  Balance  in  Self-Tones.  Textures. 
Self-tones  may  receive  the  same  types  of  treat- 
ment as  grays;  (a)  paneling  or  striping,  its  most 
popular  forms  as  in  sleeping-room  wall-papers; 
(b)  checking  as  in  textiles  or  tiles;  (c)  gradation 
which  is  sometimes  added  to  striping.  The  most 
interesting  effects  in  self  tones  are  quite  often 
like  the  gradation  of  grays  on  the  page  margin 
or  wall,  effects  not  premeditated,  but  growing  out 
of  the  character  of  texture  and  weave.  Thus 
much  of  the  beauty  of  satin  in  the  one  color  arises 
from  the  interesting  variations  upon  that  color 
which  occur  through  its  manner  of  reflecting  light ; 
at  some  planes  throwing  it  off  like  a  mirror,  bright 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  283 

and  full  of  sheen ;  at  others  producing  quieter  val- 
ues or  duller  tones.  The  matter  of  texture  is  thus 
seen  to  be  a  very  important  element  in  color  har- 
mony and  design,  since  certain  textures  seem  even 
in  the  flat  to  provide  endless  variety  and  interest 
while  others  like  cheap  cloth  and  burlap  seem  to 
demand  the  application  of  a  formal  color  pattern 
or  weave  to  atone  for  their  lack  of  variety.  Ee- 
versing  and  placing  goods  which. has  a  grain  or 
weave  that  catches  light  so  that  the  light  is  caught 
at  different  angles  creates  most  fascinating  effects 
in  self-tones.  Parquetry  is  an  instance  of  this 
principle  applied  to  wood. 

Danger  of  8  elf -Tones.  In  a  scheme  of  self- 
tones,  it  is  generally  best  to  separate  two  light 
values  by  a  dark  one  and  two  dark  values  by  a 
light  one.  A  pure  yellow  and  a  grayed  yellow, 
whether  tint  or  shade,  may  clash;  particularly 
when  the  contrast  in  value  is  weak.  For  the  pure 
yellow,  far  from  gaining  from  the  grayed  yellow, 
may  be  dulled;  the  grayed  yellow  far  from  gam- 
ing by  contrast  with  the  pure  yellow  may  seem 
either  chalky  if  it  is  a  tint,  or  muddy  and  too  dull, 
if  it  is  a  shade.  A  third  color  complementary  to 
the  two  or  black,  white,  light  or  dark  gray,  would 
be  necessary  to  separate  them. 

Although  self -tones  of  any  color  and  a  scheme 
of  grays  resemble  one  another  in  character,  in  that 
there  is  no  contrast  of  hues  in  either  case,  self 
tones  are  less  self  sufficient  as  a  color  scheme,  than 
are  grays.  For  as  we  have  observed  in  the  case 


284  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

of  printing  and  etching,  grays  may  be  complete  as 
a  harmony  without  the  addition  of  color.  But  a 
design  of  self -tones  never  can  be  quite  complete; 
without  counting  upon  adjacent  color  to  supple- 
ment it.  For  in  a  room,  planned  upon  four  self 
tones  of  blue  A  B  C  D,  these  strike  a  balance  B — C. 
The  eye  may  be  over  stimulated  by  this  large  area 
of  B — C  blue.  This  unpleasant  overstimulation 
of  blue  can  be  neutralized  by  the  introduction  into 
the  scheme  of  its  complementary  yellow  in  the  ac- 
cessories or  trimmings. 

Two-Color  Schemes  Built  on  Complementaries. 
Where  the  intention  is  to  create  a  two-color 
scheme  which  may  be  more  or  less  complete  in 
itself  complementary  colors  will  quite  naturally 
be  the  ones  to  employ.  For  these  are  balanced  in 
retinal  stimulation. 

But  here  the  difficulties  of  analogous  schemes 
are  greater  than  in  self-tones  or  neutral  grays. 
For  how  is  one  to  avoid  the  prominence  of  con- 
trasting elements  in  any  two  complementaries  ? 
Complementaries  as  we  have  seen  contrast  in  hue, 
in  warmth,  in  activity  and  in  value.  How  then 
can  an  analogous  harmony,  one  in  which  the  ac- 
cent is  on  likeness  rather  than  on  variety,  be  ob- 
tained with  complementaries  as  a  starting-point. 

A  room  is  to  be  designed  in  blue  and  yellow. 
Blue  in  its  spectrum  quality  is  relatively  low  in 
value,  cold,  receding;  yellow  is  high  in  value, 
warm,  advancing.  There  are  reasons  why  blue 
and  yellow  should  be  used.  There  are  also  rea- 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  285 

sons  in  a  particular  case  for  greatly  reducing  this 
contrast  so  that  though  blue  and  yellow  are  used 
the  harmony  is  one  of  analogy. 

Yellow  can  be  made  to  lose  its  power  and  con- 
trasting character  by  an  attack  upon  its  warmth 
and  value  and  consequently  upon  its  activity,  or 
the  attack  can  be  made  upon  the  properties  of  the 
blue  or,  finally,  both  can  be  modified.  This  attack 
can  be  made  in  a  number  of  ways. 

1.  Add  black  to  yellow  by  admixture,  j      Bringing  them 

2.  Add  white  to  blue  by  admixture.  1  m  Value> 


3.  Add  blue  to  yellow  by  admixture. 


4.  Add  yellow  to  blue  by  admixture. 


Graying  each  and 
bringing  them  to- 
gether in  hue  and 


value. 


5.  Break  up  blue  with  spotting  of  yellow.     J  game  effect 

6.  Break  up  yellow  with  spotting  of  blue.      [          an 


Black  or  blue  added  to  the  yellow  as  in  (1)  and 
(3)  would  reduce  its  qualities  and  bring  it  closer 
to  the  blue  in  value  warmth  and  activity.  But 
assume  that  pure  yellow  and  pure  blue  were  the 
only  means  to  be  employed.  How  could  that  yel- 
low nevertheless  be  grayed  and  the  contrasts  re- 
duced. This  could  be  accomplished  as  in  (6)  by 
the  introduction  of  blue  spotting  over  the  large 
yellow  areas,  as  in  the  case  of  a  yellow  couch  cover 
broken  up  and  darkened  by  the  blue  cushions 
thrown  across  its  surface. 

The  contrasts  in  a  two  color  scheme  may  be  re- 
duced by  acting  upon  either  of  the  two  colors. 


286  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

Thus  instead  of  reducing  the  warmth  and  activity 
of  the  yellow  we  might  heighten  the  activity  and 
lessen  the  coolness  of  the  blue  either  by  adding 
yellow  or  white  to  it,  as  in  (2)  and  (4)  or  by  break- 
ing it  up  with  yellow  or  white  spotting  as  in  (5). 

Rivalry  in  Two  Color  Schemes.  Where  two  col- 
ors are  used,  each  to  cover  a  large  and  distinct 
area,  there  is  always  the  danger  of  a  disruptive 
rivalry  between  the  two,  each  making  a  separate 
clamorous  bid  for  attention. 

The  larger  the  areas  so  treated  the  more  will  the 
separation  and  lack  of  unity  annoy.  It  would  be 
offensive  even  in  a  small  room  rug.  Imagine  this 
juxtaposition  of  two  complementaries  applied  to 
the  whole  side  wall  of  a  building.  The  larger  the 
scale  the  more  need  of  pulling  the  two  areas  to- 
gether. To  lessen  the  contrast  of  these  two  areas, 
by  heightening  two  or  darkening  one,  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  overcome  the  rivalry.  The  method 
for  introducing  unity  into  such  a  design  is  the 
broken  color  technique.  This  is  illustrated  in  the 
rug  which  although  composed  of  two  colors  has 
these  colors  so  distributed  that  the  whole  area  vi- 
brates with  a  play  of  both. 

Two  Colors.  Related  or  Neighboring  Hues. 
The  simplest  type  of  analogous  harmony  in  two 
colors  is  one  based  on  two  neighboring  hues. 
Thus  blue  and  blue-green,  yellow  and  yellow- 
orange,  blue  and  blue-violet  would,  if  the  contrast 
in  value  and  intensity  were  moderate,  be  examples 
of  analogous  harmonies.  But  such  schemes  are 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  287 

likely  to  be  very  poor  except  in  relation  to  some 
third  color.  In  most  such  cases  the  colors  are 
both  warm  or  both  cold,  and  present  insufficient 
contrast  in  hue  to  be  pleasing.  Over-large  areas 
of  two  such  hues  are  as  a  result  likely  to  be 
as  incomplete  in  a  balance  of  retinal  stimula- 
tion as  one  color.  The  eye  would  grow  tired  of 
yellow  and  yellow-orange  almost  as  soon  as  it 
would  be  wearied  by  yellow  alone. 

In  the  case  of  two  hues  separated  by  a  some- 
what wider  interval  as  blue  and  green,  yellow  and 
orange,  orange  and  red,  these  colors  may  clash 
and  be  mutually  hurtful  through  simultaneous 
contrast  if  close  in  value  and  in  intensity.  But 
if  the  contrast  of  values  were  increased  such 
schemes  may  prove  fair.  Thus  violet  would  go 
fairly  well  with  blue  if  its  value  contrasted  suf- 
ficiently with  that  of  the  blue  to  avoid  muddi- 
ness.  Similarly  blue  and  green  in  contrasting  val- 
ues may  be  fairly  pleasing  but  such  schemes  will 
always  seem  incomplete  unless  associated  with  a 
third  color  which  complements  these  in  warmth  or 
activity.  Two  neighboring  hues  unrelieved  by  a 
third  complementary  to  the  two  are  somewhat  like 
an  unresolved  harmony  in  music. 

Two  Related  Colors  and  Black.  The  simplest 
method  for  testing  the  truth  of  the  foregoing  is 
the  use  of  the  colored  discs.  Take  any  two  colors 
neighboring  in  hue,  both  high  in  value  and  inten- 
sity. Place  one  behind  the  other  so  that  the  effect 
is  of  a  wall  three-fourths  one  color  and  a  border  of 


288  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  other.  Observe  the  lack  of  clarity  in  such 
schemes.  They  correspond  to  a  sentence  the 
thought  of  which  is  vague.  Each  hue  seems  to 
rob  the  other  of  something  of  its  quality.  Now 
if  a  black  slip  is  interposed  between  the  other  two 
so  that  a  narrow  edge  of  black  separates  the  two 
colors,  the  effect  is  immediately  changed.  The 
colors  become  clearer,  the  scheme  more  effective 
and  the  two  colors  instead  of  clashing  are  likely  to 
be  attractive  in  a  quiet  sort  of  way  through  the 
subtlety  of  their  difference.  A  picture,  framed 
with  a  small  black  frame,  separating  a  mat  of  one 
hue  from  a  related  hue  or  a  self-tone  in  the  wall, 
is  a  practical  application  of  this  type  of  three  color 
scheme. 

It  may  be  set  down  as  a  general  principle 
that  two  related  warm  colors,  light  in  value,  are 
best  enhanced  by  the  introduction  of  a  rich  black. 
This  would,  however,  make  the  scheme  a  contrast- 
ing one  unless  the  black  is  kept  relatively  small  in 
area. 

Two  Related  Colors  and  White.  Two  related 
colors  both  dark  or  low  in  value,  whether  pure  or 
gray,  also  require  separation  as  can  be  demon- 
strated with  the  slips.  In  this  case  particularly 
if  they  are  both  cold,  white  can  be  used  to  separate 
them  for  the  sake  of  clarity  and  to  reduce  muddi- 
ness.  This  use  of  white  and  black  to  separate 
related  colors  is  very  important  in  textile  design, 
where  a  pattern  of  one  color  on  a  ground  related  in 
hue  must  be  outlined  in  black  or  white,  as  the  case 


ANALOGOUS  COLOR  SCHEMES  289 

may  be,  to  avoid  muddiness  and  lack  of  clarity. 

Complementaries  and  Black,  or  White.  Two 
complementary  colors  closely  related  in  high  val- 
ues, and  both  grayed  like  a  light  gray  blue  and  a 
light  gray  yellow  although  enhancing  one  another, 
may  nevertheless  be  somewhat  weak  along  their 
edge,  unless  here  too  a  contrasting  note  of  black  is 
introduced  to  separate  them.  The  experiment  can 
be  made  with  the  slips  and  the  effects  noted.  If 
both  are  low  in  value,  an  edging  of  white  becomes 
desirable. 

Related  Colors  for  Details  in  Larger  Schemes. 
Schemes  of  two  or  more  colors  all  related  would 
be  attractive  in  a  couch  cover,  portiere,  picture  or 
other  surface  which  would  be  part  of  a  still  larger 
scheme  in  which  the  contrast  of  the  complemen- 
tary would  enter.  Yellow,  yellow-orange  and 
orange  in  a  portiere  or  a  window  curtain  may  be 
very  good  when  the  room  itself  is  cool  and  com- 
plementary. 

Three  Color  Schemes.  Complementary  and  Re- 
lated. In  a  scheme  of  three  or  more  colors,  even 
in  a  detail  such  as  a  portiere,  it  is  generally  advis- 
able to  have  two  or  more  of  the  colors  in  the  por- 
tieres related  in  hue  and  to  have  one  complemen- 
tary. This  complementary  note  has  an  enhancing 
effect  on  the  two  related  colors  and  is  also  useful 
when  the  wall  is  complementary  to  the  body  of  the 
portiere,  because  it  introduces  a  common  note. 

Analogous  Harmonies  and  Interest.  In  the 
chapter  on  harmony  it  was  pointed  out  that  con- 


290  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

trast  and  variety  are  prime  aids  to  interest.  An- 
alogous harmony  tending  towards  the  reducing  of 
contrasts  of  hue,  value  and  intensity  is  therefore 
in  danger  of  failing  to  hold  attention. 

In  many  cases  of  advertising  the  designer  faces 
a  dilemna.  A  design  harmonizing  with  the  asso- 
ciations of  the  goods  to  be  exploited  may  be  too 
gray  and  subtle  to  hold  attention.  A  design 
strong  in  its  contrasts  and  aimed  to  attract  atten- 
tion may  be  incongruous  in  its  force.  The  solu- 
tion which  is  considered  more  in  detail  under  the 
heading  of  color  in  business,  lies  in  selecting  an 
analogous  scheme,  which  though  restrained  in  con- 
trasts still  has  novelty  in  the  combination  or  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  hues  to  give  them  attention- 
holding  power. 


CHAPTEE  XVI 
THE  LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HAEMONY 

Practical  Considerations  in  Color  Planning.  A 
general  study  of  the  laws  of  fitness  will  help  to  an 
understanding  of  the  conditions  which  the  de- 
signer must  remember  and  recognize  in  practicing 
his  art. 

The  study  of  harmony  can  be  made  on  a  purely 
mathematical  basis,  without  reference  to  specific 
conditions,  and  solely  with  regard  to  rhythm,  bal- 
ance, proportion  and  retinal  stimulation.  But  to 
study  it  in  this  manner  is  like  working  out  a  math- 
ematically correct  economic  scheme,  and  leaving 
out  the  human  element.  Color  does  not  exist  in 
vacuo;  it  is  constantly  and  definitely  related  to 
practical  problems,  and  its  character  must  be  in- 
fluenced by  special  considerations  in  each  case. 

Fitness  in  Structural  Design.  The  difference 
between  a  theoretical  study  of  harmony  and  a 
practical  one  may  best  be  illustrated  by  an  ex- 
ample taken  from  structural  design.  A  student 
about  to  make  a  chair  may  have  been  taught  about 
the  need  of  rhythm  of  lines  and  planes,  the  grace 
which  comes  from  a  feeling  of  related  motion  in 
the  parts.  He  may  have  been  taught  balance ;  that 

291 


292  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  upper  part  should  balance  the  lower  part  in 
interest  through  the  addition  of  carving  or  some 
similar  device.  He  may  have  been  taught  propor- 
tion ;  the  value  of  a  unit  of  measure  and  an  agree- 
able variety  of  measure,  within  a  design.  But 
before  he  can  make  a  good  chair,  that  rhythm,  bal- 
ance and  proportion  will  have  to  be  controlled  by 
a  sense  of  the  fitness  of  the  chair  to  its  purpose, 
to  its  material  and  to  the  construction  which  the 
material  enforces.  The  character  of  his  rhythmic 
lines  will  be  one  kind  if  the  chair  is  to  be  a  babe's 
high  chair,  of  another  kind  if  an  invalid  chair,  of 
still  another  if  a  dining-room  chair. 

The  proportions  likewise  would  be  modified  by 
considerations  of  use.  In  like  manner  the  ma- 
terial, involving  as  it  does  different  construc- 
tion, would  completely  modify  the  application  of 
the  pure  principles  of  harmony.  The  Vienna 
chair,  the  rattan  chair,  the  upholstered  chair,  each 
would  help  determine  the  design  through  the  char- 
acter of  construction  which  the  material  makes 
necessary. 

The  Laws  of  Fitness.  These  principles  of 
adaptation  to  use,  material  and  construction  which 
the  structural  designer  must  consider  in  order  to 
make  his  design  not  only  abstractly  beautiful,  but 
actually  beautiful  in  its  practicability  are  called 
the  Principles  of  Fitness. 

In  color  problems  the  practical  considerations 
naturally  vary  in  each  case  but  they  may  be  classi- 
fied under  the  same  three  headings,  viz. : 


LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HARMONY        293 

1.  Fitness  to  Purpose  or  Use. 

2.  Fitness  to  Material. 

3.  Fitness  to  Construction  and  Shape. 

If  these  three  principles  are  once  fully  realized 
in  their  general  meaning  their  special  application 
to  color  problems  will  be  more  readily  appreci- 
ated. 

Fitness  to  Purpose  or  Use  in  Design.  No  mat- 
ter how  agreeable  the  lines,  shapes,  proportions 
or  colors  of  an  object  may  be,  it  is  in  poor  taste 
if  it  is  not  so  fashioned  that  it  both  fits  and  ex- 
presses its  purpose.  No  matter  how  agreeable 
may  be  the  ornament  to  be  applied  to  an  object, 
if  it  interferes  in  any  way  with  its  usefulness,  it 
is  poor  design.  The  chair  must  support.  The 
knife-handle  must  be  easily  grasped.  A  paper- 
cutter  may  have  an  embossed  handle,  because  no 
pressure  will  be  put  upon  it;  a  carving-knife  on 
the  other  hand  must  be  strongly  made  and  simple 
of  handle.  Naturalistic  carving  of  roses  on  the 
back  of  one's  chair  would  endanger  waists  and 
create  discomfort.  Necklaces  must  not  be  too 
heavy.  A  shoe  is  not  beautiful,  no  matter  how 
abstractly  attractive  in  pattern,  if  it  suggests  dis- 
comfort. 

The  Fitness  of  Color  to  Purpose.  This  prin- 
ciple of  fitness  to  use  applies  to  color  in  many 
ways.  Color  should  not  be  loud  or  gay  on  ob- 
jects of  common  use  such  as  cooking  utensils,  not 
only  because  gay  colors  would  be  unsuited  to 
their  function,  but  also  because  use  would  blacken  /  ' 


294  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

them.  Colors  may  be  attractive  and  rich  in  the 
case  of  the  more  purely  ornamental  objects  such 
as  vases,  jewelry  and  ties. 

Colors  must  have  quiet  dignity  in  large  objects 
combining  use  and  beauty  such  as  pianos.  Color 
should  be  soft  and  receding  where  objects  are  to 
keep  their  place  as  in  stone  walls,  gates,  fences  and 
similar  unobtrusive  objects. 

Colors  should  be  strong  and  contrasting  when 
meant  to  be  seen  at  a  distance;  quiet  and  subtle 
when  to  be  seen  at  close  range. 

In  a  hospital,  in  a  music  room,  in  a  gymnasium, 
in  a  classroom;  in  an  afternoon  street  dress,  in  a 
morning  wrap,  an  evening  gown,  a  bathing  suit ;  in 
fine,  in  every  practical  problem,  color  is  modified 
by  considerations  of  the  use  or  purpose  of  the  ob- 
ject to  which  it  is  applied. 

Fitness  to  Material  in  Design.  Limitations  of 
Technique.  As  a  general  principle  in  the  arts  of 
design,  whether  the  designing  of  ornament  or  of 
objects,  the  material  employed  modifies  the  char- 
acter of  the  pattern.  A  wooden  chair  has  four 
legs.  A  marble  bench  would  look  ridiculous  if 
constructed  with  posts.  A  design  in  inlay  for  the 
back  of  the  wooden  chair  would  have  to  be  made 
with  the  limitations  of  wood  inlay  in  mind  and 
effects  proper  to  wood-carving  would  not  be  at- 
tempted. Lace  filigree  is  not  proper  to  stone 
carving.  The  attempt  at  strong  relief  and  model- 
ing is  hardly  justified  in  lace  work.  All  of  which 
may  seem  platitudinous;  yet  the  world  is  filled 


LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HARMONY       295 

with  so  called  "Objets  d'art"  designed  in  viola- 
tion of  these  principles. 

Fitness  to  Material.  Regard  for  Texture.  In 
the  foregoing  the  references  have  been  to  the  limi- 
tations of  technique  imposed  by  the  material. 
But  there  is  another  consideration  under  adapta- 
tion to  material.  The  essential  beauty  or  quality 
of  material,  whether  wood,  marble,  silver,  gold, 
or  satin,  should  be  enhanced  rather  than  minim- 
ized by  the  design.  The  strength  and  graining 
of  wood,  the  mass  and  bulk  of  marble,  the  luster 
of  silver  and  gold,  the  sheen  of  satin  should  be 
intensified  and  made  more  effective  by  the  treat- 
ment. Marble  in  the  rough  is  impressive  in  bulk, 
attractive  in  texture.  A  statue  which  in  its  aim 
at  copying  life  loses  the  qualities  of  the  marble 
itself  would  be  a  poor  statue. 

The  Fitness  of  Color  to  Material.  This  prin- 
ciple of  preserving  the  character  of  a  material  has 
an  interesting  corollary.  The  richer  and  more  at- 
tractive the  material  the  less  may  it  be  hidden  or 
lose  its  character.  Sculptors  do  not  as  a  rule 
paint  ornament  over  their  bronze  or  marble,  hid- 
ing the  textures  of  the  surface.  For  the  same 
reason  good  designers  in  textiles  will  not  put  much 
ornament  upon  satins,  velvets  or  fine  leather  bind- 
ings. Where  the  ornament  does  not  enhance,  it 
has  no  reason  for  being.  On  the  other  hand,  cheap 
materials  such  as  linen  book  covers,  burlapped 
screens,  poor  wood  furniture,  scrim  curtains, 
will  be  more  elaborately  treated  with  applied 


296  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

color  unless  fitness  to  purpose  dictates  little  orna- 
ment. 

We  may  apply  the  general  principle  of  adapta- 
tion to  material  to  the  art  of  coloring  in  a  number 
of  interesting  ways.  The  deliberate  disguising  of 
material  by  color,  the  attempt  to  make  wood  or 
plaster  seem  like  marble ;  inexpensive  metals  like 
precious  ones ;  wood  of  coarse  grain  like  superior 
wood,  all  this  is  cheap  and  in  poor  taste.  Most 
inexpensive  materials  can  be  made  more  attrac- 
tive by  a  frank  use  of  color  than  by  an  obvious 
attempt  to  deceive.  Moreover  whatever  the  tex- 
ture and  color  of  the  material,  provided  they  are 
not  sufficiently  attractive  in  themselves,  a  judi- 
cious use  of  color  staining  or  of  color  ornament, 
may  bring  out  'fine  points  or  may  deliberately  sur- 
render the  texture  for  the  pleasure  afforded  by  the 
applied  color.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  painting 
of  wood. 

The  more  beautiful  the  material  in  texture  and 
in  color,  the  less  the  need  for  dyeing  or  for  color 
ornament.  Where  neither  the  texture  nor  the 
body  color  are  interesting,  staining,  dyeing  or 
painting  the  whole  surface  may  overcome  the 
weakness.  Where  the  texture  is  interesting  and 
its  color  is  only  moderately  so,  the  use  of  ornament 
in  a  well  chosen  complementary  color  may  give 
quality  to  the  initial  color. 

Leather  bindings,  when  the  leather  is  exquisite 
in  quality  should  be  chastely  ornamented.  Linen 
or  cheap  cloth  bindings,  may  require  all  the  blan- 


LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HARMONY        297 

dishments  of  color  to  overcome  their  lack  of  ap- 
peal. 

Men  who  for  the  most  part  know  little  about 
textiles  frequently  remark  upon  the  simplicity  of 
taste  of  some  very  wealthy  women,  and  comment 
upon  the  fact  that  they  seem  to  spend  less  on  their 
clothes  than  do  their  less  opulent  sisters.  Apart 
from  the  expense  of  the  cut  and  the  design,  there 
is  quite  frequently  a  high  cost  to  the  goods  itself, 
which  with  all  its  apparent  simplicity  is  really  a 
material  of  costly  texture. 

Soft  clinging  materials,  and  rich  materials  of 
pleasant  vibrating  sheen,  may  be  of  solid  colors 
with  little  trimming.  In  the  case  of  soft  fabrics, 
the  gradation  of  the  one  hue  as  it  falls  in  folds  of 
different  values  will  create  even  without  applied 
color  a  varied  color  appeal. 

Fitness  to  Construction  in  Design.  The  orna- 
ment or  pattern  of  the  structure  itself  must  not 
hinder  the  constructive  strength;  they  should  if 
possible  even  accentuate  and  in  some  cases  help 
constructive  strength. 

In  making  a  chair  there  are  certain  definite 
constructive  elements  which  must  enter.  There 
must  be  supports,  there  must  be  a  seat,  there  must 
be  a  back.  The  supports  must  function  ade- 
quately with  reference  to  the  weight,  and,  what  is 
more,  they  must  look  adequate.  If  they  seem  in- 
sufficient, no  matter  how  agreeable  in  line,  there  is 
a  discord  between  appearance  and  use.  There 
must  be  more  than  the  abstract  unity  of  inner  rela- 


298  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

tions.  The  seat  should  be  at  the  height  dictated 
by  man's  figure  and  not  solely  as  dictated  by  a 
mathematical  scheme  of  proportion.  The  'back 
must  slant  so  as  to  support  the  resting  sitter  most 
comfortably.  Ornament  which  would  make  the 
supports  seem  purely  decorative  adjuncts  and  so 
destroy  the  feeling  of  their  supporting  power 
would  be  in  poor  taste.  Carving  on  the  seat  of 
the  chair  would  be  ridiculous.  A  back  so  deli- 
cately filigreed  as  to  seem  unsafe  to  lean  against, 
or  so  elaborated  carved  in  strong  relief  that  it 
would  be  torture  to  rest  against  it,  would  be  a 
poorly  designed  back,  no  matter  how  independ- 
ently agreeable  the  ornament  might  be. 

Here  all  that  has  been  pointed  out  is  the  need 
of  avoiding  ornament  which  will  definitely  hurt 
the  sense  of  structure  in  the  object.  There  are 
cases  though,  where  ornament  may  positively  help 
structural  strength.  In  the  bands  of  ornament 
around  a  vase,  the  thickening  serves  in  the  older 
pottery  to  strengthen  the  vase  at  its  weakest 
points,  just  as  the  extra  thickness  of  the  flower  pot 
strengthens  that  humble  vessel. 

Fitness  of  Color  to  Construction.  It  may  seem 
that  the  colorist  using  color  as  a  purely  decorative 
feature  of  life  need  not  be  concerned  about  such 
vulgar  things  as  mechanics  and  construction.  But 
when  we  remember,  as  has  been  more  fully  worked 
out  elsewhere,  that  color  may  be  flippant  or 
stately,  brilliantly  exuberant  or  extremely  sober 
and  reticent,  we  can  see  instantly  that  the  mood  of 


LAWS  OF  FITNESS  IN  HARMONY       299 

color  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  construction. 
Supporting  masses  such  as  table  posts  with  jobs 
to  perform  should  receive  sober  color  treatment. 
Interior  walls  will  be  grayer  in  small  rooms  than 
in  larger  ones.  The  color  note  on  a  purse  will  be 
at  the  clasp  to  accentuate  its  function.  A  fur 
border  at  the  base  of  an  evening  wrap  will  have 
weight  in  color  through  a  strong  contrast  which 
pulls  the  eye  downwards  thus  emphasizing  its 
function.  Color  on  the  low  wall  will  be  placed  in 
vertical  bands  to  carry  the  eye  upward,  to  help 
give  height  to  the  room  and  support  to  the  ceiling. 
But  if  the  room  is  too  high  it  might  be  applied  in 
horizontal  bands  to  create  the  illusion  of  reduced 
height. 

Fitness  or  Congruity,  Part  of  Color  Harmony. 
All  these  instances  of  the  laws  of  fitness  are  given 
in  order  that  as  the  practical  problems  of  everyday 
life  are  approached  the  colorist  will  have  the  com- 
plete conception  of  the  nature  of  color  harmony  to 
guide  him.  Color  must  satisfy  the  retina  through 
complementarism  and  simultaneous  contrast.  It 
should  satisfy  the  mind  in  its  orderly  arrangement 
as  regards  rhythm,  balance  and  proportion.  It 
must  also  satisfy  the  mind  as  regards  its  fitness  to 
the  practical  conditions  inherent  in  the  character 
of  the  object  to  be  colored. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
COLOE-MUSIC  AND  COLOE-MOODS 

Rimington  and  His  Color  Organ.  There  are 
experimenters  who  have  been  interested  in  a  sci- 
entifically established  analogy  between  painting 
and  music  and  who  have  endeavored  to  create  a 
definite  art  of  color-music  built  upon  that  analogy. 
The  chief  among  these  is  Eimington  who  built  a 
device  which  might  be  called  a  color  organ.  This 
instrument  has  notes,  controlled  by  stops  which, 
when  played,  project  colors  upon  a  screen. 

For  this  instrument  he  writes  color  composi- 
tions, holding  recitals  at  which  the  audience 
watches  a  color  symphony,  color  poem,  color 
drama,  or  call  it  what  you  will,  played  upon  this 
screen  in  sequence  of  time,  like  music,  as  well  as 
in  sequence  of  space  like  painting. 

Music  with  Color  Accompaniment.  In  New 
York  at  the  Eussian  Symphony  concerts,  a  similar 
instrument  has  performed  on  two  occasions,  not 
as  an  independent  art  but  in  connection  with  musi- 
cal numbers.  The  author  found  himself  at  one  of 
these  performances  attempting  to  force  analogies 
and  correspondences  between  the  tones  of  the 
music  and  the  color ;  a  fairly  interesting  exercise 

300 


COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS       301 

but  rather  tiring.  The  fatigue  resulted  from  the 
fault  known  in  design  as  rivalry.  Some  such  com- 
bination of  changing  colored  lights  and  music  may 
yet  be  evolved,  but  what  may  prove  the  more  likely 
method  is  the  one  employed  in  moving-picture 
theaters  of  the  type  of  the  Strand  and  the  Eialto 
in  New  York,  in  which  the  whole  house  is  flooded 
with  lights  of  different  colors.  These  the  opera- 
tor controls  on  the  basis,  no  doubt,  of  some  faith  in 
the  correspondence  between  his  changing  colors 
and  the  changing  moods  of  the  music.  If  people 
are  to  keep  their  eyes  open  at  concerts,  music 
would  profit  by  a  greater  measure  of  harmony  and 
color  quality  in  the  setting.  A  music  room,  a  con- 
cert hall,  and  more  particularly,  a  concert  stage 
are  worthy  of  more  pleasing  color  treatment  than 
is  usually  accorded  them.  Concerts  should  either 
be  played  in  a  light  so  subdued  that  only  the  ear  is 
appealed  to  or  with  colored  lights  and  with  colored 
settings  harmonious  with  the  spirit  of  the  music. 
"E"  in  Music.  "Pearly  Blue  and  Shimmer  of 
Moonshine."  But  when  Rimington  composes  a 
color  scale  on  the  analogy  of  the  musical  scale,  giv- 
ing to  his  colors  a  similar  sequence,  and  when 
Scriabin  writes  in  his  score  of  '  '  Prometheus  ' '  the 
"luce"  part  for  the  "Clavier  a  Lumieres,"  their 
compositions  are  based  presumably  upon  a  psy- 
chologically demonstrated  relation  or  a  mathemat- 
ical one  between  the  art  of  music  and  the  art  of 
color.  In  Scriabin 's  case  the  assumption  must  be 
that  given  colors  absolutely  harmonize  with,  and 


302  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

help  sustain  or  are  sustained  by  given  tones  of 
sound.  Though  neither  of  these  experimenters  in 
color  music  gives  either  psychological  or  physical 
bases  for  their  decisions,  they  arrive  at  color- 
codes  the  nature  of  which  may  be  judged  from  the 
following  which  Luckiesh  points  out.  In  Riming- 
ton,  C  is  deep  red.  In  Scriabin  it  is  violet.  E  is 
yellow  in  Eimington,  it  is  "  pearly  blue  and  shim- 
mer of  moonshine "  in  Scriabin. 

Differences  between  Color  and  Music.  One  dif- 
ference between  music  and  painting  is  that  one  is 
composed  in  space  where  the  whole  effect  may  im- 
pinge almost  simultaneously,  whereas  the  other  is 
composed  in  time.  Painting  can  imitate  lines, 
forms,  textures,  and  colors  and  thus  attain  a  high 
degree  of  representative  precision  in  addition  to 
its  aesthetic  appeal  as  pattern.  Music  can  suggest 
lines,  forms,  textures,  and  colors  but  without  that 
absolute  clarity  which  is  possible  to  painting. 
Color  music  proposes  to  give  up  the  clarity  of 
representative  painting  for  the  sake  of  attaining 
the  dynamic  quality  of  music,  the  quality  of  pat- 
tern through  time  as  well  as  space. 

The  Musical  Expressiveness  of  Color.  Inter- 
esting as  the  experiments  along  this  line  may  be, 
much  more  interesting  and  almost  universally  ap- 
plicable is  the  thought  which  underlies  all  attempts 
at  a  musical  expressiveness  in  color.  All  these  ex- 
periments are  based  upon  the  belief  that  color 
has  a  function  other  than  the  representative ;  that 
i+  is  also  emotionally  suggestive  and  expressive. 


COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS       303 

Can  color  suggest  sadness,  frivolity,  stateliness, 
tenderness,  austerity?  Can  it  be  martial  like 
drums,  stimulating  like  trumpet-calls,  tenderly 
plaintive  like  the  violin?  Can  it  be  so  composed 
as  to  combine  a  quiet,  deep  obligato  with  a  treble 
melody,  as  is  possible  in  the  piano?  Are  there  in 
color  tones  the  equivalent  of  soprano  trills,  tenor 
tones  and  basso  chords? 

Color  Audition  and  Color  Analogies.  There 
are  cases  of  people  who  hear  certain  tones  on  look- 
ing at  certain  colors,  and  vice  versa.  These  seem 
to  have  strong  associations ;  so  that  given  sounds 
not  only  stimulate  the  center  of  hearing  but  arouse 
instantaneous  associations  with  visual  memories. 
Nordau  castigates  all  those  poets,  painters,  and 
musicians  who  even  in  analogy  speak  of  dark  tones 
in  music,  or  shrill  colors  in  painting.  He  calls 
such  people  degenerate  and  mad.  At  the  risk  of 
being  "committed"  by  Nordau,  we  may  approach 
the  question  of  musical  analogy  with  open  mind. 
Or  rather,  let  us  quite  forget  about  music,  and  con- 
sidering color  by  itself  see  whether  it  has  not  the 
capacity  for  suggesting  emotions. 

Earlier  Attempts  to  Define  Color  Moods.  Much 
has  been  written  on  the  emotional  suggestion  of 
color  from  the  days  of  Greece  to  the  most  recent 
study,  "The  Language  of  Color "  by  Luckiesh,  but 
in  all  of  this  writing,  including  Goethe 's  famous 
statement  of  color  moods,  the  elements  of  value 
and  intensity  were  virtually  ignored.  This  is  a 
strange  oversight  and  it  seems  to  the  author  that 


304  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

it  reveals  a  fundamental  misapprehension.  Im- 
portant as  may  be  the  difference  between  blue  as 
such  and  yellow  as  such,  the  difference  between 
light  and  dark  is  very  important  in  the  emotional 
suggestion  of  color.  As  it  is  almost  in  the  very 
nature  of  all  organic  life  to  reach  towards  light 
and  the  sun,  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  emotional 
associations  of  colors  are  to  be  explained  in  large 
measure  on  their  kinship  with  light  and  the  sun,  or 
with  darkness  and  night. 

The  Emotional  Associations  of  Light  and  Dark. 
To  this  very  day  the  first  emotional  reaction 
to  color  in  which  everybody  from  primitive  sav- 
age and  child  to  the  healthy  unsophisticated  man 
or  woman,  boy  or  girl  of  to-day  would  share, 
is  on  a  basis  of  light  and  dark.  For  from  child- 
hood on,  our  associations  with  darkness  were  fear 
and  mystery.  The  unknown  spirits,  goblins  and 
specters  wait  for  night  and  must  fly  before  the 
dawn.  The  quickest  way  to  create  a  state  of  re- 
ceptivity for  suggestions  of  fear,  the  unknown, 
the  gruesome,  the  horrible,  the  mysterious,  the  un- 
canny is  to  turn  out  the  lights.  The  Witch  scene, 
the  Ghost  scene,  the  Murder  of  the  King  in  Mac- 
beth, are  night  scenes,  as  are  most  scenes  of  terror 
in  literature  and  drama.  The  fitful  lights,  the 
dark  long  shadows,  the  empty  caverns  of  darkness, 
the  contours  so  strangely  silent  and  oppressive 
when  sharply  silhouetted ;  so  elusive,  phantomlike 
and  weird  when  but  dimly  felt,  all  play  upon  the 
imagination. 


COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS       305 

Light  dispels  shadows,  glooms,  darkness,  the  un- 
known fears  and  brings  back  to  the  world  its 
accustomed  shapes,  its  familiar,  friendly  colors. 
Light  is  the  sun,  warmth,  clarity.  Hope  and  cour- 
age enter  the  heart,  so  recently  chilled  by  dark- 
ness. HelPs  dark  pit  is  lit  by  fitful  flames; 
heaven  is  a  realm  of  purest,  whitest  light.  Mys- 
tics there  are,  dreaming  spirits  who  dislike  light 
with  its  clarity,  sharp  edginess,  and  insistent  ma- 
terialism, and  who  prefer  mists  and  dim,  subdued 
lights.  But  even  these  do  not  worship  blackness. 

It  can  be  seen  that  if  the  first  distinction  in 
color-mood  was  just  light  and  dark,  with  light 
suggestive  of  good  and  darkness  of  evil,  in  time 
there  would  develop  a  form  of  color-symbolism. 
Yellow  becomes  associated  with  the  heat  and  vir- 
tue of  the  sun ;  blue  is  associated  with  the  sky  and 
certain  virtues  of  goodness  are  ascribed  to  it,  while 
green  typifies  the  fecundity  and  restfulness  of  the 
earth's  broad  surface. 

Color  Moods  through  Descriptive  Associations. 
Later  the  poets  employ  color  to  suggest  mood  in 
narrative  verse,  not  so  much  as  embroidery  for  the 
landscape  setting  as  for  its  power  of  characteriza- 
tion. "Dark  men,"  "fair  women, "  "wan," 
"pale,"  "bloodless,"  "tawny,"  "nut-brown," 
"flushed,"  "green  with  envy,"  "black  with 
rage." 

In  connection  with  landscape,  the  colors  of 
earlier  poetry  are  blue,  yellow,  green,  black,  red ; 
the  primary  colors  and  one  or  two  others.  These 


306  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

are  employed  without  tints  or  shades,  such  as  light 
green  meadows,  dark  blue  skies  and  without  com- 
pounding such  as  yellow-green,  blue-violet,  orange- 
red,  and  with  rarely  a  secondary.  For  in  Euro- 
pean poetry,  ancient  as  well  as  mediaeval,  the 
landscape  was  only  a  stage  setting  and  so  was  only 
very  broadly  sketched  in,  without  that  wealth  of 
detailed  color  which  figures  in  later  romantic 
verse. 

"Behold  the  dawn  in  russet  mantle  clad 
.Walk  o'er  the  dew  of  yon  high  eastern  hill," 

is  a  splendid  and  beautiful  example  of  Shakes- 
peare's landscape  color.  In  the  earlier  poetic  at- 
titude towards  nature,  sunlight  was  the  time  of 
brave  adventure,  a  light-filled  world  in  which  the 
joyous  heart  moved.  Moonlight  was  the  time  of 
tender  longing.  Dark  night  was  the  period  of 
foul  deeds  and  dungeons.  Neither  dawn,  day- 
light, moonlight  nor  dark  night  were  really  visual- 
ized in  the  variety  and  subtlety  of  their  color 
tones,  or  of  their  atmospheric  effects.  These  first 
enter  poetry  after  the  painter,  whose  language  is 
color,  had  discovered  and  recorded  them. 

Now,  this  digression  concerning  color  in  poetry 
and  religion  demonstrates  that  colors  seem  to 
liave  their  emotional  quality  largely  as  a  result 
of  associations,  just  as  musical  tones  do.  The 
musical  phrases  expressive  of  grief  are  suggested 
by  some  association;  either  by  sobs,  shrieks  and 
wailing  tones,  by  the  low  plaintive  sighing  of  trees 


COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS       307 

in  a  wind,  or  by  the  dull,  monotonous  rhythms  of 
waves  upon  a  deserted  beach.  Some  association 
either  in  man's  tones  or  nature's  furnishes  the 
color  designer  with  his  notes  and  chords,  just  as 
it  does  the  musician  and  poet.  Some  associations 
in  the  experience  either  of  the  individual  or  of  the 
race  may  give  to  a  color  or  a  color  combination 
something  of  its  power  to  please  or  to  irritate. 

Inherent  Powers  of  Colors.  Varying  Retinal 
Appeal.  But  though  color  emotion  is  largely  as- 
sociational  and  yellow  is  flaming  hot,  brave  and 
stirring,  because  of  the  association  of  the  sun,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  yellow,  through  its  activity 
and  its  advancing  character,  has  an  inherent  stir 
quite  independent  of  association.  Little,  yellow- 
spotted  trimmings  on  a  blue  ground  will  look  joy- 
ous through  the  quality  of  contrast  but  there  is 
besides  some  inherent  difference  in  the  character 
of  its  stimulation;  a  purely  physical  and  physio- 
logical difference.  That  this  is  so  is  quite  obvious 
in  the  case  of  the  marked  effect  of  red  not  only  on 
many  people  but  even  on  animals. 

Let  us  consider  the  color  attributes  and  first  see 
what  expressiveness  these  have  either  inherently 
because  of  their  physical  nature  or  through  asso- 
ciation with  sunlight  and  night,  or  with  other 
categories. 

The  Moods  of  the  Hues.  Have  the  hues  as 
such  any  emotional  suggestion  as  found  in  their 
fullest  or  spectrum  intensities  and  values?  It 
will  be  recalled  that  in  the  spectrum  the  hues  range 


308  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

from  high-light  yellow  to  low  dark  black.  So  that 
any  difference  in  spectrum  hues  may  at  the  same 
time  be  a  difference  in  the  emotional  suggestion  of 
the  value  or  degree  of  light  and  dark.  In  other 
words,  violet  if  it  is  gloomier  or  more  austere 
than  yellow,  may  be  so  largely  through  the  fact 
that  it  is  generally  thought  of  in  its  lower  value 
and  so  partakes  of  that  primitive  depressing  effect 
of  darkness  as  such,  as  compared  with  sunlight  or 
light  as  such. 

Spectrum  Colors  and  Associations  Suggested  to  the 
Author. 

Yellow:     Shrill,  warm,  gay,  joyous,  active,  stimulating, 

light. 

Orange:     Mellow,  warm,  rich,  full-bodied,  luscious. 
Red:    Intense,  hot,  active,  vital,  exciting,  fierce. 
Green :     Passive,  cool,  refreshing,  restful,  quiet,  retiring. 
Blue:    Passive,  cold,  depressing,  aloof,  unless  outdoors 

where  it  suggests  spacious  expansiveness. 
Violet:     Aloof,  dark,  cold,  austere,  pompous,  ceremonial, 

grave. 
Yellow-Green:     Gentle,   stimulating,  flush  of  warmth, 

spring. 

Values  and  Emotional  Suggestion.  Darkness 
and  Mystery.  Any  given  color,  run  through  the 
scale  of  its  values,  will  range  from  the  lightest  and 
most  stimulating  note  within  the  possibilites  of  its 
character  to  dark  and  more  forbidding  phases. 
Thus,  even  yellow  in  the  darker  values  verging  on 
black,  becomes  gloomy;  and  violet  in  the  lighter 
values  verging  on  white  may  become  agreeably 


COLOR-MUSIC  AND  COLOR-MOODS        309 

stimulating;  blue,  in  spite  of  its  coldness,  may  be 
shrill  and  almost  joyous.  Eed  becomes  quite 
sombre  in  its  deeper  tones  and  almost  gloomy 
when  it  nears  black.  Dark-brown  taste  is  the  ex- 
pression people  have  for  a  particularly  depressing 
state  of  feeling. 

Intensities  and  Emotional  Suggestion.  What 
change  in  emotional  suggestion  does  a  color  un- 
dergo as  it  varies  from  its  purest  intensities 
through  its  reduced  intensities  to  gray! 

Gray  as  such,  in  its  lack  of  intensity  or  hue, 
varies  from  light  to  dark.  It  is  associated  in  the 
lighter  values  with  sophisticated  moods,  refine- 
ments, and  subtleties.  In  the  darker  values  it  is 
mysterious. 

A  pure  color  grayed  loses  something  of  its  qual- 
ity and  approaches  the  sophistication,  refinement 
and  subtlety,  even  the  mystery  of  gray.  Thus, 
yellow  slightly  grayed  is  less  active,  less  intense, 
less  joyous ;  it  is  milder  and  still  stimulating  if  only 
moderately  grayed;  but  wan  and  strangely  faded 
if  more  positively  grayed.  It  would  appear  then 
that  dulled  color  has  a  slightly  wan,  tired,  spec- 
tral, subtle  appearance  and  suggests  sophisti- 
cation as  against  the  primitive  freshness  of  even 
the  dark,  intensely  pure  colors. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
COLOR  ILLUMINATION 

The  "Gay  White  Way"  a  Symbol.  The  me- 
chanics, physics  and  chemistry  of  electrical  illu- 
mination, or  of  artificial  light  generally,  are  quite 
naturally  not  within  the  scope  of  a  volume  like 
this.  But  though  the  manner  of  obtaining  arti- 
ficial illumination  may  well  be  left  to  the  experts, 
there  are  problems  in  colored  illumination  which 
face  the  home  builder,  the  electric  sign  display 
firm,  the  store-keeper  in  his  show  window  and  in- 
terior lighting,  indeed  the  city  itself.  Colored 
illumination  is  a  subject  all  the  more  interesting 
because  although  it  is  only  in  its  infancy,  it  gives 
every  promise  of  transforming  the  surface  aspect 
of  life  in  the  decades  to  come. 

The  "Gay  White  Way"  is  in  a  sense  a  symbol 
of  the  attraction  which  powerful  illumination  has 
for  the  mind.  The  restaurants,  cafes,  saloons  and 
theaters  use  the  appeal  of  the  brilliant  arc-lamps, 
the  twinkling  electric  signs,  the  sparkling  display 
lights.  Under  stress  of  competition  new  novelties 
are  evolved  and  a  warmer  and  richer  glamor  of 
colored  light  envelops  the  principal  thoroughfares 
of  business  and  amusement. 

310 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  311 

Artificial  Daylight.  As  the  eye  is  normally  ac- 
customed to  light  which  has  a  solar  spectrum,  in 
other  words  to  daylight,  it  is  possibly  best  ad- 
justed to  such  light.  The  tendency  in  the  study 
of  illuminants  has  therefore  been  toward  the  per- 
fection of  artificial  light  of  daylight  quality.  Just 
as  dye  stuffs  were  in  many  cases  discovered 
through  the  character  of  their  spectra,  in  which 
one  color  or  another  predominates,  so  illuminants 
were  searched  for  which  would  give  a  complete 
spectrum  of  daylight  quality.  As  such  illumi- 
nants however  show  a  disproportion  in  the  hues, 
as  compared  with  the  solar  spectrum,  color  screens 
are  used  to  modify  the  resulting  light  so  that  a 
closer  approach  to  the  quality  of  daylight  may 
result. 

As  Luckiesh  in  his  work  "  Color,  Its  Applica- 
tions "  points  out,  white  artificial  light  is  disliked 
and  complained  of  as  cold.  The  explanation  he 
offers  is  simply  that  the  mind  rather  prefers  a 
change.  But  it  is  likely  also  that  as  the  color  of 
night  or  interiors,  is  bluish  or  cold  gray,  the  light 
of  an  illuminant  is  more  satisfactory,  if  it  is  warm 
and  complementary  to  the  blue  of  the  night  or  the 
grays  of  a  dark  interior. 

Artistic  Applications  of  Electric  Illumination  in 
Color.  In  his  book  Luckiesh  gives  two  examples 
of  actual  applications  of  colored  illumination  which 
may  interest  the  reader.  To  quote  in  full : 

"A  suitable  use  of  colored  illuminants  is  found 
in  the  Alleghany  County  Soldiers'  Memorial.  In 


312  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

this  splendidly  lighted  installation,  which  was  de- 
signed by  Basset  Jones,  mercury  arc  lamps,  tung- 
sten incandescent  lamps,  Morse  tubes,  and  yellow 
flaming  arcs  were  used.  The  ceiling  of  the  audi- 
torium, which  is  sixty  feet  above  the  floor  is  com- 
posed largely  of  glass  in  decorative  panels.  The 
central  panel  is  outlined  by  means  of  the  pinkish 
Morse  carbon  dioxide  tube.  Over  the  corner 
panels  yellow  flame  arcs  are  hung,  and  their  flicker 
adds  charm  to  the  colored  ceiling  which  would  not 
be  present  with  perfectly  steady  light  sources. 
The  outer  panels  are  lighted  by  the  bluish  light 
of  mercury  arc  lamps,  and  tungsten  lamps  shed 
their  light  upon  the  ceiling,  adding  a  touch  of 
brilliancy.  The  contrasting  of  colors  is  so  har- 
moniously accomplished  that  the  result  is  exceed- 
ingly artistic.  Thus  the  beauty  of  this  monument 
of  decorative  art  is  visible  at  night  as  well  as  by 
daylight,  which  is  too  often  not  the  case.  There 
are  many  other  interesting  applications  of  color 
which  make  this  beautiful  work  of  art  a  mecca  for 
those  interested  in  color  lighting. 

"A  rather  interesting  case  is  found  in  a  dining- 
room  of  a  pretentious  residence.  A  large  oval 
panel  of  diffusing  glass  is  set  into  the  ceiling,  and 
behind  this  a  great  many  red,  green  and  blue  lamps 
of  low  voltage  are  placed  in  the  approximate  pro- 
portion of  two  red,  three  green  and  five  blue  lamps. 
The  lamps  of  different  colors  are  controlled  by 
means  of  dimmers  set  in  the  wall,  so  that  by  vary- 
ing the  proportion  of  red,  green  and  blue  light 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  313 

various  qualities  of  light  may  be  obtained  and 
also  a  large  range  of  intensities. " 

Artificial  Light  in  the  Home.  In  the  chapter 
on  color  in  the  home,  the  problem  of  artificial 
lighting  in  the  home  was  touched  upon  in  connec- 
tion with  the  discussion  of  ceilings.  It  was  there 
pointed  out  that  an  argument  for  the  atrocious 
white  ceilings  was  their  light-saving  quality  and 
that  according  to  some  of  the  bulletins  issued  by 
gas  companies  even  wall  papers  were  to  be  ap- 
proached from  this  angle.  It  seems  that  most 
people  have  a  passion  for  light  as  such,  quite  re- 
gardless of  its  quality.  They  want  things  clear, 
distinct,  bright.  At  the  twilight  hour  no  matter 
how  interesting  the  mood  of  the  fading  light  in  the 
room,  with  its  faces  and  forms  strangely  dissolv- 
ing in  the  shadows,  its  deep  pools  of  darkness 
with  here  and  there  a  gleam  of  wan  light,  most  of 
the  company  will  agree  that  it  is  * '  time  for  lighting 
up."  Then  the  test  of  prosperity  and  well-being 
seems  to  be  the  strength  of  the  illumination.  It 
can  not  be  too  strong  or  sharp  for  most  people. 
And  so  bulbs  of  higher  and  higher  power  are  in- 
troduced. 

More  recently  a  reaction  has  set  in.  People  in- 
terested in  the  home  are  beginning  to  observe 
that  mere  light  as  such  may  be  quite  unpleasant  at 
night,  that  artificial  light  no  matter  how  white,  is 
not  daylight.  It  glares,  it  is  cold,  it  is  trying  on 
the  eyes.  Many  are  learning  to  recognize  that  the 
stronger  the  light  is,  the  harder  are  the  shadows 


314  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

which  it  throws,  and  the  more  unpleasant  its  effect 
on  the  complexions  illumined,  which  it  tends  to 
blanch.  So  the  lamp  shade  is  called  upon  to  tone 
and  modify  the  strength  and  whiteness  of  the 
light  which  it  took  decades  to  develop. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  discussion  of  electric 
fixtures  and  their  weaknesses  of  design  and  con- 
struction. What  concerns  us  here  is  the  color  of 
the  artificial  light.  In  a  previous  paragraph  an 
elaborate  arrangement  for  illuminating  a  dining 
room  was  described.  Miss  Irwin  in  her  book 
"The  New  Science  of  Color "  looks  ahead  to  the 
time  when  similar  ideas  with  many  ingenious 
variations  will  be  quite  generally  applied,  and 
effects  surpassing  present  day  stage  illumination 
will  be  a  feature  of  home  building. 

But  within  the  more  modest  limits  of  the  home 
builder  of  average  means,  the  lamp  shade  must 
at  present  serve  to  cast  the  colored  glow  into  the 
light  of  the  room.  Cool  lights,  blues  or  greens, 
may  appeal  to  some  people,  but  they  are  usually 
quite  disagreeable  in  their  effect  upon  the  complex- 
ion. The  vaudeville  actor  who  wishes  to  imper- 
sonate a  drug  addict,  or  to  tell  a  mystery  story,  has 
the  blue  or  green  spot-light  thrown  upon  his  face. 
The  preference  for  warm  tones  had  best  be  rec- 
ognized in  selecting  lamp  shades,  and  even  the 
desire  for  novelty  of  effect  should  be  restrained 
and  carefully  considered  before  deciding  upon  a 
scheme  in  which  cold  lamp  shades  are  employed 
as  the  dominant  color  note.  Pale  yellow,  rose, 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  315 

even  soft  orange,  are  very  kind  to  the  complex- 
ions in  a  room,  but  pure  orange,  or  reds,  unbroken 
by  pattern  tend  to  outshine  the  faces,  so  that  in- 
stead of  seeing  faces  beautifully  illuminated  by 
lamps,  one  sees  lamps  with  which  curiously  un- 
familiar faces  are  vainly  competing. 

Colored  Lighting  in  Business.  Restaurateurs 
and  their  decorators  can  well  see  the  application 
of  the  above  to  their  business.  While  it  may  be 
desirable  to  cater  to  the  taste  for  brilliance  as 
such,  a  quality  of  mellowness  and  warmth  in  the 
light  is  quite  worth  while.  The  use  of  individual 
lamps  and  shades  at  each  table  is  quite  generally 
recognized  as  a  useful  adjunct,  because  no  matter 
how  brilliant  the  general  light,  the  separate  lamp 
shades  can  serve  to  throw  a  reflected  warm  glow 
into  the  features  of  the  diners  which  is  quite 
grateful  to  the  eyes.  Restaurateurs  would  no 
doubt  find  it  worth  while  to  employ  schemes  of 
colored  lighting  which  combine  novelty  with 
charm.  When  once  the  art  of  colored  lighting  is 
perfected,  such  schemes  will  be  capable  of  suffi- 
cient change  to  maintain  a  continued  interest  in 
the  place. 

For  this  purpose  lanterns  are  useful,  and  as 
they  permit  of  different  groupings,  the  element  of 
change  can  be  introduced  by  their  use  with  com- 
parative ease.  The  possibilities  of  effects  from 
lanterns,  not  merely  the  accepted  Japanese  lan- 
terns but  a  great  variety  of  other  kinds  which  can 
be  devised,  have  received  but  slight  consideration. 


316  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

In  business  interiors  at  day  there  may  in  many 
cases  be  good  reason  for  attaining  if  possible  the 
white  light  of  day  by  a  system  of  indirect  light- 
ing which  hides  itself,  so  that  all  consciousness  of 
anything  but  daylight  is  lost.  But  in  such  cases 
great  care  must  be  exercised  to  avoid  coldness,  and 
it  becomes  the  more  desirable  that  the  walls  and 
accessories  be  warm  and  cheerful  in  tone. 

In  show  windows  colored  illumination  may 
prove  quite  an  asset.  A  New  York  Fifth  Avenue 
shop  came  into  prominence  by  maintaining  the 
only  decidedly  colored  illumination  on  the  Avenue. 
It  was  a  powerful  yellow  touched  with  orange 
which,  without  showing  its  origin,  flooded  the 
window  and  projected  its  glow  into  the  street. 
It  could  be  clearly  seen  for  blocks  and  blocks. 
Some  time  later  the  color  was  changed  to  an 
orange  rose,  still  quite  soft  in  spite  of  its  purity, 
because  of  its  indirectness  and  consequent  free- 
dom from  glare.  Its  effectiveness  can  not  be  ques- 
tioned. If  it  be  granted  that  a  show  window  is  in 
a  sense  a  silent  selling  agent,  working  either  at 
one  hundred  per  cent  or  at  greatly  reduced  effi- 
ciency the  importance  of  any  scheme  of  color 
which  can  help  to  fix  attention,  can  be  quite  readily 
realized. 

Another  window  which  attracted  the  writer  be- 
cause of  the  use  of  colored  illumination  was  a  res- 
taurant on  a  side  street.  Here  the  show  window 
was  lighted  in  the  usual  manner,  with  an  interest- 
ing variation.  The  electric  light  was  filtered 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  317 

through  a  panel  of  draped  cretonne  with  a  vague 
flower  pattern  of  orange,  brown  rose  and  yellow 
green  tones.  The  result  was  appealing  beyond 
description.  It  was  an  absolutely  new  se'nsation ; 
quite  different  from  stained  glass,  painting,  lan- 
tern effects  or  lamp  shade  light.  Cretonnes  are 
used  for  lamp  shades  but  these  rarely  appear  as 
effective  as  did  the  window  described  in  which  a 
rich  panel  of  warm  vibrating  light  was  seen 
through  the  dark  blue  street. 

Illumination  in  Streets.  The  problem  of  street 
illumination  is  one  which  deserves  most  careful 
thought.  The  division  between  engineering  effi- 
ciency and  aesthetic  requirements  is  too  sharply 
drawn,  and  quite  unnecessarily  so.  The  old-fash- 
ioned engineer  who  was  first  and  last  an  engineer, 
considering  efficiency  and  only  efficiency  in  his 
structural  work  must  give  way  to  the  "  modern " 
engineer  trained  to  consider  the  achievement  of 
beauty  as  part  of  his  problem.  So  too  the  old- 
fashioned  electrical  engineer  must  make  way  for 
the  new  aesthetic  electrician,  prepared  to  consider 
his  problem  from  more  aspects  than  sheer  white- 
ness or  brilliance. 

The  streets  of  American  cities  as  lighted  at 
present  are  cold  and  glaring.  The  arc  lights  are 
most  of  them  disagreeable  and  annoying  centers 
of  retinal  irritation.  Not  only  from  the  stand- 
point of  retinal  pleasure  but  even  from  the  stand- 
point of  efficiency  the  white  arc  light  is  bad,  in  that 
the  retina  is  so  overstimulated  by  its  activity  that 


318  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

the  prickly  piercing  pin  points  of  glaring  light 
focus  attention,  leaving  surrounding  forms  darker 
for  the  sharp  contrast. 

Highly  desirable  though  impracticable  except 
possibly  on  thoroughfares  where  there  are  no  resi- 
dences above  the  store  level,  would  be  indirect 
lighting,  obtainable  by  throwing  light  upon  the 
buildings,  from  which  it  would  be  reflected  back 
upon  the  street.  The  lights  themselves  could  be 
hidden  from  view.  More  practical  but  requiring 
study  would  be  the  mellowing  of  the  present  lights 
so  that  they  would  be  not  only  warm  tinted,  but 
somewhat  more  diffuse  and  soft  in  dispersion. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  reception  of  the  various 
foreign  commissions  in  New  York,  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue arc  lights  were  made  yellow  for  miles.  The 
effect  was  quite  pleasing  but  the  lights  were  not 
permitted  to  remain  yellow.  After  the  few  days 
of  celebration,  they  were  changed  to  their  accus- 
tomed white  glare,  only  to  be  altered  to  yellow 
again  on  the  occasion  of  the  next  reception. 
Ignoring  the  unnecessary  trouble  and  cost  of  these 
changes,  would  it  not  have  been  worth  while  to 
have  maintained  the  yellow  lights  throughout  the 
few  months  in  order  to  determine  by  a  fairly  pro- 
longed test  the  degree  of  satisfaction  which  they 
would  give.  In  any  event  here  is  a  field  in  which 
the  engineer  with  taste  as  well  as  ability  may 
make  a  most  interesting  and  worth  while  contri- 
bution to  the  beauty  of  night  in  the  city  streets 
and  squares  and  parks. 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  319 

Colored  Lights  in  Fountains.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  the  receptions  just  mentioned,  colored  illu- 
mination was  also  used  in  the  basins  of  some  of 
the  Fifth  Avenue  fountains,  notably  the  two  in 
front  of  the  Library  Building.  The  spectacular 
effect  obtained  from  this  source  was  quite  won- 
derful, and  the  more  ambitious  city  squares  of  the 
future  will  either  regularly  or  at  holiday  inter- 
vals be  eye-stirring  pictures,  in  which  the  music 
of  the  splashing  fountains  will  blend  with  the  dis- 
solving colors  playing  upon  the  showers  of  jewel- 
like  spray.  What  the  sun's  play  does  for  a  foun- 
tain at  day,  these  lights  would  still  more  bewitch- 
ingly  do  for  fountains  at  night. 

Here  too  keyboards  of  simple  character  could  be 
devised  so  that  varicolored  effects  could  be 
planned  from  time  to  time.  There  need  be  no 
fear  of  a  too  insistent  theatricalism  in  these  ef- 
fects, for  the  softest  colored  grays  could  be  used 
as  well  as  the  purest  and  brightest  hues. 

Colored  Searchlights  and  Clouds  of  Steam. 
Still  another  use  of  colored  lights  was  demon- 
strated on  the  occasion  of  the  Hudson-Fulton  Cele- 
bration in  New  York  when  clouds  of  steam  ascend- 
ing high  into  the  night  sky  were  played  upon  by 
colored  search  lights.  Steam  and  smoke  are  in 
themselves  so  fascinating  in  design,  color  and 
movement  that  it  might  seem  that  they  are  quite 
sufficient  and  that  the  added  effect  of  color  illu- 
mination is  an  artificial  note.  But  at  night  and 
for  special  holiday  celebrations,  there  is  value  in 


320  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

this  art  of  colored  steam,  not  only  because  of  the 
beautiful  effects  possible  but  because  of  the  masses 
of  people  who  can  enjoy  them. 

Searchlights  on  Colored  Banners.  In  New 
York  since  the  war  broke  out  a  number  of  larger 
buildings,  among  them  Wanamaker's,  have  ar- 
ranged a  device  whereby  a  flag  fluttering  in  the 
breeze  high  up  in  the  night  sky  is  lighted  by  one  or 
more  strong  lights.  These  flags  have  an  endless 
fascination,  like  the  colored  reflections  of  a  sail- 
boat in  rippling  water.  The  colors  of  the  flags 
have  a  quality  way  up  against  the  far  blue  sky 
which  is  quite  indescribably  attractive,  and  the 
constant  variation  in  the  movement  of  the  stripes, 
is  now  slow  and  serpentine,  now  snappy  and  whip- 
like,  now  large  and  ample  in  rhythm. 

Here  again  is  an  idea  capable  of  development  as 
people  learn  to  play  with  colored  illumination  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  play  and  the  appeal  of  the 
varied  effects.  In  planning  deliberate  expressions 
in  some  such  terms  the  very  play  of  the  fluttering 
banners  could  be  controlled  and  would  not  have  to 
be  dependent  upon  the  caprice  of  a  summer 's  wind. 

Colored  Illumination  in  Trees.  The  Edison 
Electric  Company  cooperating  with  the  city  au- 
thorities has  helped  to  enliven  quite  a  number  of 
festive  occasions  by  the  use  of  colored  lights.  By 
the  stringing  of  colored  electric  bulbs  in  trees  an 
interesting  effect  of  glowing  fruits  and  flowers  is 
obtained.  The  red,  green,  orange,  blue  and  yel- 
low, filtered  as  they  are  by  the  foliage,  sparkle  and 


COLOR  ILLUMINATION  321 

gleam  with  an  other-worldliness  which  is  quite 
remarkably  effective,  considering  how  simple  is 
the  means. 

On  occasions  they  have  also  used  lanterns,  hang- 
ing a  tree  so  full  of  them  that  it  was  all  aglow 
with  light.  An  orchard  or  small  park  so  decor- 
ated would  make  a  most  colorful  and  imagination- 
stirring  setting  for  a  pageant  or  carnival. 

Colored  Electric  Signs.  Of  recent  years  the 
electric  display  signs  have  shown  an  increased 
recognition  on  the  part  of  their  designers  of  the 
value  of  color  effects.  Brilliance  in  itself  is  no 
longer  sufficient.  Neither  is  the  large  attention- 
getting  factor  of  motion  in  the  lights.  Planned 
color  effects,  combining  brilliance,  motion  and 
color  novelty  and  imagination  are  now  sought. 

Just  north  of  the  Times  Building  in  New  York 
an  electric  sign  has  recently  been  erected  which 
points  the  way  to  what  may  prove  to  be  one  of  the 
arts  of  the  future.  The  structure  for  this  illumi- 
nated "ad"  is  on  a  roof-top;  it  is  several  stories 
high  and  runs  the  full  length  of  a  city  street. 
Though  it  advertises  nothing  more  aesthetic  than 
a  chewing  gum,  it  is  flanked  by  two  fountain  ef- 
fects, in  which  the  lights  are  designed  to  repre- 
sent a  fountain  basin  with  water  spraying  up  and 
falling  again  in  jeweled  drops.  The  constant 
movement  and  play  of  the  water  is  well  conveyed 
even  to  the  trickling  of  some  drops  down  over  the 
basin's  edge.  Between  these  two  fountains  in  the 
large  symmetrical  pattern  are  two  peacocks  the 


322  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

heads  of  which  meet  at  the  center  of  the  design. 
The  iridescence  of  their  tails  is  achieved  by  blues 
and  greens,  purples  and  oranges,  which  change  in- 
termittently as  though  with  the  slight  rippling  of 
the  feathery  surface.  Very  weak  in  the  general 
scheme  is  the  large  amount  of  crude  yellow  in  a 
conventional  flower  border  band  running  the  full 
length  of  the  sign  at  its  base.  The  other  details 
are  negligible  for  our  present  purposes. 

This  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  art  of  the 
skies,  in  which  men  of  the  color  talent  and  fan- 
tasy of  a  Monticelli  or  a  Prendergast  will  execute 
in  colored  bulbs  upon  a  skeleton  of  iron,  imagina- 
tive scenes  of  rippling  colors,  ladies  in  brocades 
and  silks  and  satins,  walking  beneath  autumn 
groves,  while  blue  seas  spotted  with  white  sails 
gleam  in  the  distance. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE 

Color  Suggestion  vs.  Old-Fashioned  Setting. 
Among  the  many  results  of  the  new  interest  in 
color  and  its  conscious  use  for  expression,  are  the 
modern  ideas  regarding  color  in  the  theatre.  Not 
only  do  the  new  theatres  show  a  greater  study  of 
color  scheme  in  the  interior  decoration  as  such, 
but  the  very  stage  effects  are  influenced  by  the 
new  science  of  color.  The  tendency  is  to  give  to 
the  stage  setting  and  lighting  a  more  carefully 
considered  part  in  play  producing.  The  natural- 
istic painter  copied  an  effect  and  tried  to  dupli- 
cate a  cross-section  of  nature,  color  for  color  and 
form  for  form.  The  modern  frequently  creates 
a  color  pattern  derived  from  the  suggestion  of 
that  note  in  nature.  In  the  same  way  the  old- 
fashioned  scenic  painter  attempted  to  duplicate 
some  grotto,  grove  or  palace,  by  setting  up  the 
rocks,  the  trees,  the  buildings,  and  the  other  ac- 
cessories of  the  scene.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  deceive  the  eye,  which  in  the  nature  of  things 
theatrical  cannot  be  deceived.  The  elaborate, 


324  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

mechanically  creaking  devices  for  creating  the 
illusion  of  reality  only  succeeded  in  evoking  com- 
ment, sometimes  quite  enthusiastic,  about  "how 
real  it  all  looks !" 

But  the  skill  which  is  admired  in  naturalistic 
stage  setting  is  the  skill  of  a  carpenter,  a  scene 
painter  and  a  producer  alike  uninspired  by  any 
aesthetic  aim  or  vision.  For  years  one  of  our 
leading  producers  received  unstinted  praise,  be- 
cause the  scene  in  a  mountain  lodge  was  "just 
like"  a  mountain  lodge;  because  his  Child's  Res- 
taurant scene  was  just  like  a  Child's  Restaurant 
down  to  the  last  smash  of  china.  A  certain  cheap 
type  of  phonographic  play  no  doubt  requires  this 
cheap  type  of  photographic  setting. 

The  modern  producer,  however,  is  beginning  to 
feel  that  this  "realism"  fails  to  bring  with  it  any 
intensity  of  reaction,  that  the  audience  once  it 
has  paid  its  tribute  to  the  detailed  truth  has  noth- 
ing left  to  stimulate  its  imagination  or  to  please  its 
eye.  The  theatre  if  it  is  to  keep  its  hold  must  ex- 
ploit every  one  of  its  resources  to  the  fullest  limit 
of  emotional  effect.  Color  is  one  element  in  the 
producer's  mood  compelling  magic  box.  It  must 
be  used  consciously  to  help  the  effects  of  the  play 
to  carry  across  the  footlights.  It  must  support 
and  sustain  the  action,  harmonizing  with  it  in 
mood,  yet  not  competing  with  it  through  too  insist- 
ent a  note. 

Kismet  and  Sumurun.  In  the  performances  of 
"Kismet"  and  of  "Sumurun,"  in  New  York  sev- 


COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE  325 

eral  years  ago,  one  had  an  opportunity  to  compare 
the  realistic  photographic  stage  with  the  modern 
suggestive  color  setting.  Kismet  attempted  an 
absolute  duplication  of  a  street  scene  in  Cairo ;  the 
bodily  lifting  of  the  scene  from  Cairo  to  an  Ameri- 
can stage.  In  Sumurun  a  palace  scene  though  it 
was  quite  obviously  conventionalized  and  simpli- 
fied had  a  quality  of  Orientalism,  an  exotic  rich- 
ness of  color,  a  suggestion  of  wanton  luxury  and 
riotous  splendor  which  no  absolutely  photographic 
reproduction  could  have  equaled.  In  a  number  of 
the  scenes  this  was  achieved  through  relatively  in- 
expensive flat  drops  which  through  their  color  and 
design  made  more  effective  settings  for  the  given 
action  than  most  elaborate  reproductions. 

The  New  Principles  and  their  Exponents.  This 
new  attitude  towards  color  is  based  on  the  mood- 
compelling  power  of  color  and  color  lighting. 
That  absolute  clarity,  definition  and  literalness 
are  destructive  of  fantasy  and  the  action  of  the 
imagination;  that  well  planned  color  suggestion 
whether  frankly  abstract  or  deliberately  con- 
ventionalized, may  stimulate  the  audience  to  a 
high  pitch  of  emotional  sympathy;  these  are  the 
foundation  principles  of  the  new  art  of  stage  set- 
ting. 

So  Gordon  Craig,  Eeinhardt,  Urban  and  Bakst 
among  others  have  devoted  thought  to  the  prob- 
lems of  play  producing  and  have  placed  an  ever- 
increasing  emphasis  upon  the  possibilities  of  a 
better  use  of  color  effects.  In  "  Ghosts, "  in 


326  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

"Hamlet,"  in  a  play  by  Dunsany  the  setting  no 
matter  how  flat,  simple  and  inexpensive,  if  well 
planned  in  color  and  well  controlled  in  lighting, 
can  act  as  the  very  mirror  of  the  play's  mood,  re- 
flecting its  every  transition  by  subtle  changes. 

Color  in  the  Russian  Ballet.  In  the  Russian 
Ballet  color  plays  a  large  part,  not  only  in  the 
settings,  but  also  in  the  costumes.  The  effect  of 
many  of  the  dances  is  a  mad  riot  of  swirling  flam- 
ing hues.  To  match  the  wild  abandon  of  the  mood 
of  the  more  primitive  dances  the  color  is  as  intense 
in  hue,  as  animated  in  pattern  and  as  sharply  con- 
trasted in  values  as  color  can  well  be.  Though 
color  qualities  are  being  used,  just  as  is  the  music, 
to  support  the  mood  of  the  dance  and  its  theme, 
there  is  lacking  in  some  of  the  ballets  like  Thamar 
an  obvious  restraint  and  plan.  The  color  like  the 
dancing  becomes  sheer  abandon;  expression  and 
emotion  seem  to  destroy  form. 

But  in  "  Petrouschka ' '  color  responds  more 
clearly  to  the  changing  moods  of  the  Ballet.  The 
market-place  in  the  holiday  scene  is  gay  and  clam- 
orous in  its  intense  and  contrasted  hues.  Sud- 
denly the  magician,  the  owner  and  creator  of  the 
three  puppets, — the  ballerina  puppet,  the  gorgeous 
Moor  puppet  who  is  favored  by  her,  and  the  clown 
puppet  who  loves  her, — appears  clad  in  yellow 
against  the  purple  tent.  The  restless  dancing 
groups  compose  themselves,  while  the  little  old 
man  plays  a  tune  upon  his  pipe,  a  tune  as  shrill 
against  the  wild  blare  of  the  music  which  precedes 


COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE  327 

it,  as  is  his  yellow  among  the  deep  oranges,  reds, 
blues,  greens  and  purples. 

In  the  next  scene  the  poor  puppet  clown  whose 
love  is  unrequited  is  revealed  in  his  tent.  He  is 
a  long  thin  angularly  convulsed  streak  of  yellow 
and  white  spots  against  the  blackness  of  his  unlit 
compartment.  The  darkness  of  inner  mood  in 
this  grotesquely  pathetic  picture  of  a  mind 
wracked  by  jealousy,  is  suggested  by  the  black- 
ness which  envelops  him  and  through  which  he 
would  seek  some  avenue  of  escape.  At  an  occa- 
sional climax  of  torture  he  throws  himself  against 
the  darkness,  piercing  its  walls,  but  only  to  find 
more  darkness  beyond.  Suddenly  the  ballerina 
appears.  She  is  all  allurement,  rose  glow,  cream 
and  pink.  The  clown  Petrouschska  is  transfixed 
with  joy.  More  grotesque  than  ever,  he  pours 
out  his  passion,  but  as  he  advances,  she  steps  back 
out  of  the  door  and  he  is  again  in  darkness. 

The  Moor  is  now  shown  in  his  compartment,  re- 
splendent in  costume  in  a  brightly  lighted  and 
primitively  colored  room.  He  is  lying  on  his 
couch,  playing  with  a  golden  ball  which  he  throws 
into  the  air  and  catches.  But  as  he  plays,  the 
moving  golden  ball  seems  to  him  to  be  alive.  He 
drops  it.  It  rolls  from  him.  He  makes  obeis- 
ances and  finally  falls  before  it  in  a  passion  of 
trembling  fear.  The  ballerina  enters.  A  love 
scene  follows  which  is  interrupted  by  the  appear- 
ance of  Petrouschka  who  is  kicked  out  by  the 
Moor. 


328  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

In  the  last  scene  in  the  market  place  again, 
though  the  day  is  dying  out,  all  is  merriment  and 
movement.  Suddenly  the  clown  appears  chased 
by  the  Moor  who  slays  him  right  in  the  midst  of 
the  holiday  throng.  The  sudden  change  of  mood 
in  this  climax  is  conveyed  most  simply  by  the  color 
lighting  at  this  point.  Poor  humanity  closes  in 
around  the  dead  clown,  the  bright  colors  of  their 
costumes  disappear  and  merge  into  one  black 
mass. 

When  the  police  enter  and  the  magician  shows 
that  Petrouschska  was  only  a  puppet  and  that  no 
harm  was  done,  the  crowd,  still  hushed,  disperses. 
As  the  yellow  old  man  passes  across  the  deserted 
square,  dragging  the  shell  of  his  broken  puppet 
after  him,  the  spirit  of  the  puppet  appears  above 
the  tent  wall  and  with  menacing  gesticulation 
pours  down  a  curse  upon  his  maker's  head.  The 
square  is  colored  with  the  gray  and  drab  light  of 
disillusion. 

In  the  dramatic  development  of  the  Ballet,  good 
color  composition  in  setting,  costume  and  lighting 
was  as  much  a  feature  of  the  producer's  task  as 
was  the  dancing  or  the  grouping.  The  color  as 
well  as  the  music  played  a  running  accompaniment 
to  the  mood.  And  with  it  all,  the  properties  were 
inexpensive.  Flat  drops  served  for  the  two  tent 
scenes,  and  a  very  simple  arrangement  suggested 
all  the  bizarre  outlandishness  of  the  open  square. 

One  of  Urban' s  Color  Effects.  In  the  settings 
for  Macbeth  by  Urban  the  night  walking  scene  of 


COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE  329 

Lady  Macbeth  achieved  a  high  level  of  purely  pic- 
torial effect  through  the  color  arrangement.  Clad 
in  her  white  night  dress,  carrying  a  lighted  candle, 
Lady  Macbeth  appeared  from  the  right  on  an 
upper  level,  and  silhouetted  against  a  night  sky 
walked  slowly  across  a  parapet  to  a  point  near 
the  left  stage  at  which  steps  led  down  into  the 
court  below. 

Urban  in  fact  is  in  part  responsible  for  a  recent 
tendency  to  make  color  and  pictorial  effect  the 
dominant  note  in  the  stage.  Just  as  a  certain  type 
of  spectacular  play  in  the  past  depended  largely 
upon  elaborate  mechanical  effects  to  offset  the 
poverty  of  dramatic  material,  so  in  many  a  mod- 
ern production  the  color  designer  takes  the  lead 
over  the  dramatist. 

Musical  Revues  Saved  by  Color.  New  York 
has  for  several  years  seen  among  its  successes 
musical  comedies,  with  not  a  single  "catchy" 
melody,  not  a  comic  line  or  situation.  These 
musical  comedies,  which  have  been  neither  musi- 
cal nor  comic,  were  saved  by  the  stage  settings 
which  in  many  performances  brought  the  only  ap- 
plause of  the  evening.  The  amount  of  pleasure 
which  the  eye  can  derive  from  beautifully  propor- 
tioned, beautifully  combined  colors  is  demon- 
strated by  the  success  of  these  Revues.  The  eye- 
filling  pictures  make  them.  People  who  abso- 
lutely deny  the  Picasso  idea,  who  would  laugh  at 
the  freakishness  of  one  of  his  abstract  paintings, 
here  look  at  a  set  representing  "Madam  Y's 


330  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

millinery  shop"  and  though  they  enjoy  the  effect, 
fail  to  realize  that  their  enjoyment  is  based  upon 
the  mathematically  just  balance  of  spacing,  of 
warm  and  cold  colors,  advancing  and  receding, 
intense  and  dulled,  high  and  low  value  hues,  com- 
bined with  interesting  contrasts  of  textures. 

Color  in  a  Dunsany  Play.  Dunsany  in  his  play 
"The  Queen's  Enemies"  seems  to  have  composed 
his  drama  with  the  vision  of  a  painter,  and  to  have 
realized  its  action  in  terms  of  eye-filling  color  ef- 
fects. So  richly  varied  is  the  appeal  of  color  to 
the  eye  in  this  play  that  from  the  entrance  of  the 
slave  and  queen  down  a  stairway  to  the  grotto  be- 
low the  Nile,  the  bodies  of  both  revealed  in  every 
rhythmic  sequence  of  contours  through  the  light 
thrown  upon  them  by  the  torch  the  slave  carries, 
every  detail  of  its  action  would  satisfy  an  audience 
which  did  not  understand  a  word  of  the  dialogue. 
The  illumination  of  the  grotto  revealing  slaves  in 
waiting,  the  arrival  of  the  princes,  gloriously 
tawny  or  richly  raimented,  the  banquet  scene  with 
its  fruits  and  viands,  its  goblets  and  its  wines,  the 
sudden  darkening  of  the  grotto  as  the  queen  traps 
her  guests,  the  final  horror  of  the  inrushing  waters 
of  the  Nile,  coldly  glistening  through  the  blackness 
of  the  hole  where  but  a  few  minutes  before  all  was 
so  richly  colorful,  these  provide  a  dramatic  color 
symphony  quite  apart  from  the  text.  Whether 
Dunsany  conceived  his  play  in  terms  of  color 
progression  or  not,  it  is  the  sort  of  play  which 
lends  itself  to  the  modern  producer's  ideas. 


COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE  331 

New  Ideas  in  Stage  Lighting.  But  interesting 
as  the  new  color  effects  in  stage  setting  and  cos- 
tuming may  be,  it  is  in  the  field  of  colored  illumina- 
tion that  some  of  the  most  striking  triumphs  of 
future  stage  production  will  be  achieved.  The 
day  of  the  footlights  is  gone,  the  day  of  the  spot- 
light is  going ;  the  stage  lighting  of  the  future  will 
be  as  complete  an  accompaniment  to  the  mood 
as  the  words  and  action  of  the  play  itself. 
Great  skill  in  indirect  lighting,  in  soft  and  almost 
imperceptible  transitions,  skies  which  pass  from 
twilight  glow  to  dusk  and  then  to  the  deep  night 
in  which  a  red  moon  rises,  paling  as  it  ascends,  a 
landscape  bathed  in  evening  mists  which  grow 
heavier  and  heavier  finally  enveloping  all  in  dark- 
ness, these  are  almost  the  commonplaces  of  the 
marvelous  new  stagecraft. 

Experimenters  are  now  working  on  the  perfec- 
tion of  devices  for  completely  controlling  the  back- 
ground not  only  in  its  intensity  of  light  but  also 
in  its  hues ;  not  only  in  its  general  color  but  in  any 
part  of  its  color.  By  availing  themselves  of  the 
principle  that  in  a  stage  set  the  reds,  for  example, 
can  be  made  to  disappear  completely  if  light  which 
has  no  red  in  it  is  thrown  upon  the  scene,  that  a 
given  background  painted  with  this  type  of  con- 
trol in  mind  can  be  made  to  fade  out  in  any  part 
while  the  stage  remains  fully  lighted,  they  can 
attain  unprecedented  effects.  The  possibilities  of 
this  new  stage  lighting  will  be  realized  if  one  im- 
agines a  Turner  landscape  of  soft  volumes  of  air, 


332  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

limitless  spaces,  liquid  seas,  sun-bathed  mountains 
and  light  drenched  skies,  played  upon  so  that 
mountain  and  sea  and  sky  can  be  made  to  change, 
by  controlling  the  values,  the  intensities  and  even 
the  hues  of  each  part. 

There  are  those  who,  though  they  believe  in 
color  setting,  would  use  this  new  instrumentation 
of  the  lights  to  intensify  the  mood  of  the  play  on  a 
definite  theory  of  the  relative  value  of  color  set- 
ting and  action.  Action  is  according  to  them  the 
chief  function  of  the  drama.  The  coloristic  effects 
are  secondary  and  made  necessary  primarily 
through  the  weaknesses  of  the  play  as  action. 
Therefore,  since  color  is  secondary,  it  should  be  so 
controlled  that  when  the  action  reaches  climaxes 
of  interest,  the  color  fades  out,  and  as  soon  as  the 
action  is  on  a  less  absorbing  level,  the  background 
reappears  to  maintain  a  certain  level  of  intensity 
of  effect. 

But  in  the  "Queen's  Enemies "  it  was  seen  that 
a  play  might  be  so  constructed  that  its  action  could 
be  developed  in  terms  of  the  lighting.  The  light- 
ing was  not  a  mere  filler-in  for  poor  playwright- 
ing,  but  one  of  the  vital  forces  in  the  action  itself. 

In  the  winter  of  1917,  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House  Madame  de  Saint  Point  gave  a  free  exhibi- 
tion of  Meta  chorie,  which  is  the  name  she  gives  to 
an  art  of  dancing,  quite  compact  and  close  knit  in 
the  body  contours,  angular  and  convulsed  in 
rhythms.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  merits  or 
demerits  of  her  dancing  as  such,  she  had  in  her 


COLOR  IN  THE  THEATRE  33a 

lighting  effect  a  novel  arrangement,  which  the 
author  would  like  to  see  repeated  and  made  the 
basis  for  further  experiments. 

When  the  curtain  rose  the  stage  was  seen  as  one 
vast  blue  atmospheric  mist.  On  the  right  and 
left,  soft  hangings  seemed  to  go  back  for  miles 
through  the  gradation  of  hue  from  a  shrill  tone 
through  reduced  intensities  to  gray.  The  back 
drop  was  almost  completely  lost  through  the  fore- 
ground atmosphere. 

When  the  dancer  appeared  in  the  far  back- 
ground she  seemed  spectral,  so  dimly  did  her  form 
disengage  itself  from  the  enveloping  gray.  As 
she  came  forward  diagonally,  dancing  across  the 
intervening  space,  her  body  and  costumes  passed 
from  the  spectral  gray  by  subtlest  degrees  through 
ever-increasing  purity  of  colored  light,  to  the  final 
climax  of  a  full  shrill  light  in  the  foreground. 
The  dancing  of  a  single  figure  in  this  way  became 
an  art  of  color  gradations ;  for  as  she  danced  away 
towards  the  background  the  colors  grayed,  as  she 
danced  forward  they  grew  purer.  This  effect 
could  be  schematically  combined  with  dancing  so 
that  the  slower,  graver  and  more  solemn  rhythms 
would  be  in  the  grayer  light;  the  livelier  move- 
ment in  the  shriller  and  purer  light.  As  the 
dances  were  given  there,  this  light  was  always 
blue — no  doubt  as  complementary  background  to 
the  color  of  the  dancer's  legs  and  arms, — but 
graduated  changes  to  other  hues  might  have  been 
combined  with  the  action  for  given  effects. 


CHAPTER  XX 
COLOE  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY 

Grown    Ups   Playing    with    Colors.    Children 
play  with  colors,  and  kindergarten  education  is 
largely  based  on  their  delight  in  bright  hues. 
Grown-ups   are   not   very  much   different   from 
children  in  this  respect  except  that  they  have 
lost  the  sense  of  planned  play.    Their  play  con- 
sists in  sitting  back  and  watching  an  entertainer. 
We  have  seen  how  color  is  performing  a  larger 
part  in  the  commercialized  entertainment  pro- 
vided for  adults  in  the  musical  comedies,  in  the 
•dramas,  even  in  the  musical  overture  which  is 
played  to  color  accompaniment  in  the  more  pre- 
tentious moving  picture  theaters.     The  desirabil- 
ity for  community  play  with  color  used  as  a  means 
of  group  expression  is  to  be  the  subject  of  this 
chapter.    In  an  article  entitled  "Celebrating  In- 
dependence" written  some  years  ago  for  the  "New 
Republic"  the  author  gave  expression  to  some  of 
his  ideas  along  this  line  and  as  these  seem  to  be 
apropos  at  this  point,  the  article  is  quoted  in  full. 

"Safe  and  Sane"  Fourths.  "To  grow  out  of 
the  noise,  the  bluster  and  the  cant  of  the  old 
celebrations  of  the  birthday  of  Liberty  is  the 
wish  of  an  ever-growing  number.  Celebrate, 

334 


COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY  335 

safely  and  sanely,  the  people  are  told,  but  what 
new  program  is  offered  f  How  shall  communities 
express  the  joy  that  is  in  them,  assuming  that 
there  is  any  joy?  How  shall  the  young  ones  be 
made  happy  and  their  elders  pleasantly  reminis- 
cent and  proud  of  their  country,  its  glory  and  its 
achievement?  Quite  simply,  it  would  seem.  Let 
Americanization  be  the  catch-word,  and  let  the 
people  be  told  by  eminent  speakers  how  happy 
they  should  be  as  citizens  of  this  great  country. 
It  was  once  said,  'Let  there  be  light.'  These  now 
say,  'Let  there  be  joy,'  as  though  joy  could  be 
created  by  fiat. 

An  Official  Celebration.  "The  principal  offi- 
cial celebration  of  Independence  Day  by  New 
York  City  presented  the  spectacle  of  an  audience 
of  ten  thousand  sitting  at  night  in  the  open  air 
on  stone  slabs,  listening  to  speeches  differing  very 
slightly  from  the  good  old  spread-eagle  variety, 
singing  in  unison  a  hymn  entitled  'God  Save  the 
President/  words  and  music  contributed  by  a 
Maine  minister,  and  being  called  upon  in  conclu- 
sion to  observe  'Miss  Columbia  and  Uncle  Sam,' 
in  the  persons  of  two  vaudeville  performers,  dance 
modern  ballroom  dances  while  the  new  portable 
searchlight  invented  by  Mr.  Edison  played  upon 
them.  It  was  an  incongruous,  inartistic  blend  of 
up-to-date  advertising  and  publicity  methods  with 
old  New  England  sentiment,  interlarded  with  rhe- 
torical references  to  our  wonderful  democracy. 

A  "Block  Party."    What  is  there  about  this 


336  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

wonderful  democracy  which  makes  our  com- 
munity sense  so  starved  and  our  attempts  at 
community  play  so  nearly  ludicrous  or  posi- 
tively pathetic!  In  Brooklyn  on  the  night  of 
the  fourth  of  July,  I  came  upon  a  street  cele- 
bration, one  block  closed  to  traffic,  gaily  fes- 
tooned with  lanterns,  a  band  in  the  center  of  the 
street,  crowded  sidewalks  where  Jane,  Hans,  Pe- 
dro and  Kebecca  with  fathers  and  mothers,  little 
brothers  and  sisters  crowded  one  another.  On  the 
balconies  of  the  frame  houses  sat  families,  friends 
and  relatives  exchanging  small  talk.  To  the  eye 
it  was  a  fairly  gay  scene  with  the  glowing  lights 
red  and  gold,  orange  and  amber,  against  the  trem- 
bling blue-black  of  the  sky.  The  faces  were  like 
beautiful  crystals,  each  face  gleaming  with  strange 
and  glamorous  reflections.  But  to  the  mind  of  the 
observer  and  to  the  spirits  of  those  who  wandered 
aimlessly  on  the  street,  what  a  sorry  attempt  this 
was  at  communal  gaiety! 

"I  stood  in  front  of  the  bandstand.  The 
rhythm  of  a  popular  two-step  plainly  moved  the 
youthful  ones  to  dancing,  but  no  provision  had 
been  made.  As  the  closing  bars  were  sounding 
another  band  could  be  heard  from  a  near-by  street. 
The  new  music  grew  louder.  March  time.  Ex- 
pectancy. At  last  something  was  happening.  A 
parade.  Those  near  enough  started  for  the  end  of 
the  street,  but  no  need.  The  parade  turned  the 
corner.  'It's  the  Elton  Street  crowd  showing  off 
its  bigger  band,'  remarked  a  girl  as  she  recog- 


COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY  337 

nized  those  in  the  line.  Men  and  women  with  in- 
fants in  their  arms,  shamefaced  couples,  rows  of 
hard  workers,  some  few  score  of  children,  all 
straggled  by.  There  were  no  banners,  no  torches, 
no  costumes.  It  was  a  diversion  for  both  crowds, 
but  evidently  a  disappointing  one. 

"But  something  might  yet  be  in  store,  for  hear! 
— an  announcement  from  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee. All  eyes  turned  eagerly  to  the  band 
stand.  *I  have  the  pleasure  to  introduce  Judge  X, 
the  speaker  of  the  evening.'  Aftr  creating  sus- 
pense by  calling  upon  a  member  of  the  committee 
to  unstring  some  of  the  lanterns,  presumably  for 
a  freer  play  of  emotional  gesture,  the  Judge  be- 
gan: *I  wish  to  congratulate  this  community  on 
its  patriotic  spirit  and  excellent  choice  of  a  com- 
mittee. One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years 
ago — ' 

Art  Lacking  in  Celebrations.  "Why  was  it 
all  so  sad?  What  was  lacking  in  this  well- 
meant  but  abortive  attempt  of  democracy  to 
celebrate  its  own  birthday,  a  failure  typical  of 
so  many  other  attempts  throughout  the  coun- 
try? To  me  as  I  stood  there  it  seemed  that 
what  was  lacking  was  art.  Whatever  little  life 
there  was  in  that  street  celebration  came  through 
its  music  and  its  lighting  effects.  More  art,  more 
room  for  beautiful  play  and  self-expression  by  the 
crowd  would  have  meant  more  life  and  more  joy. 
Without  a  common  feeling  revealing  itself  in  beau- 
tiful forms,  all  gatherings  of  people  tend  to  be 


338  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

vulgar,  foolish  or  stupid.  To  make  a  community 
group  a  social  unit  inspired,  aroused  and  thrilling 
to  a  common  emotion  requires  the  presence  of  a 
common  tradition,  instilled  and  fostered  by  art 
forms. 

"The  Greeks  realized  this  in  their  drama,  in 
their  religious  celebrations,  even  in  their  athletic 
contests.  The  Italian  cities  reveled  in  pageants 
and  festivals.  The  old  guilds  of  artisans  had  their 
*  moralities'  and  their  miracle  plays.  Kings  and 
princes  stimulated  respect  for  royalty  in  the  many 
by  exhibitions  of  imposing  pomp  and  ceremony. 
But  our  own  democracy,  a  democracy  of  mixed 
races  and  cultures  which  so  especially  needs  the 
common  language  of  art  to  bind  its  people  in  deep 
feeling,  seems  not  to  have  realized  the  need  for 
beautiful  forms  for  self  expression. 

"Here  and  there  indications  of  promise  and  a 
possible  dawning  of  a  democratic  art  of  com- 
munity play  come  to  us.  Pageants  and  festivals 
of  local  color  and  character  begin  to  mark  the  holi- 
days of  some  western  communities;  but  for  the 
most  part  our  group  celebrations  are  deficient  in 
imagination.  Committees  of  ' successful  men'  ar- 
range the  old  things  in  the  old  way.  The  cities, 
overtaxed,  make  niggardly  appropriations,  and 
there  is  no  incentive  to  self-sustained  celebrations 
by  neighborhood  groups,  when  the  result  antici- 
pated is  only  a  display  of  lanterns,  a  band  and 
some  dubious  oratory. 

"When   'the   four   hundred'   plan    their   gala 


COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY  339 

nights  and  costume  balls,  they  act  as  entertainers 
as  well  as  entertained,  and  each  costume  is  in  its 
limited  way  a  form  of  self-expression.  They  call 
on  artists  to  plan  tableaux  in  which  a  large  num- 
ber of  those  present  are  given  still  further  oppor- 
tunities for  acting  and  playing.  But  communities 
rarely  call  upon  the  artists  to  arrange  their  cele- 
brations. Not  that  our  present  day  professional 
artists  are  always  the  best  suited  in  the  commu- 
nity to  serve  it  in  this  way.  But  whether  it  be  the 
professional  artist,  using  this  word  in  its  broad- 
est sense,  the  amateur  or  the  layman  who  helps  to 
organize  play  is  only  a  detail.  Art  is  necessary ; 
not  *  high-brow'  art  provided  from  above  for  the 
crowd,  but  art  forms  created  by  the  crowd. 

A  Safe,  Sane  and  Beautiful  Fourth.  "An 
almost  unexplored  land  of  communal  play  is 
awaiting  those  who  care  to  enter  as  pioneers. 
The  use  of  colored  lights  in  the  open  air ;  the  plan- 
ning at  small  cost  of  fountain  effects  with  the  fas- 
cination of  intermittent  streams  illuminated;  or 
the  equal  fascination  produced  by  lights  coloring 
clouds  of  smoke  or  steam,  simply  enough  gene- 
rated, these  are  suggestions  for  celebrations  at 
night,  in  the  elaboration  of  which  communities 
could  vie  with  one  another,  undoubtedly  with  inter- 
esting results.  Most  effective  would  be  costumed 
ring  dances  around  these  fountains  or  against  the 
background  of  ascending  colored  clouds,  dances  in 
which  the  participants  would  compete  in  impro- 
vised steps  and  statuesque  grouping.  Appropri- 


340  COLOE  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

ate  tableaux  would  add  to  the  picturesqueness.  In 
time,  too,  a  literature  of  simple  dramatic  content 
might  provide  for  a  still  larger  participation  by 
the  people. 

"Contrast  the  emotion  of  a  crowd  sitting 
through  several  hours  of  speeches  with  the  mood 
of  the  same  group  gathered  as  a  family  party  to 
watch  brothers,  sisters,  and  children  in  tableaux, 
pageants,  and  dancing;  a  mood  which  those  can 
best  appreciate  who  have  seen  an  audience  of  im- 
migrant mothers  stirred  to  their  depths  by  the 
organized  entertainment  provided  by  their  chil- 
dren. As  for  Americanization,  the  explanations 
at  home  concerning  costumes  and  tableaux,  fol- 
lowed later  by  a  view  of  the  outdoor  performance, 
certainly  would  have  more  promise  for  the  devel- 
opment of  emotional  overtones  of  patriotism  than 
that  revealed  by  the  average  speeches  of  our  poli- 
ticians and  district  leaders. 

"In  these  suggestions  the  community  is  con- 
ceived as  a  small  unit.  The  village  is  of  course 
ideal,  but  in  the  large  cities  the  school  with  its 
parents'  association,  its  playground  and  its  roof 
garden  would  be  the  natural  meeting  ground  for 
democracy.  With  holiday  play  organized  along 
these  lines  a  community's  pride  would  stimulate 
it  to  a  more  beautiful  display  of  imagination  than 
that  of  'the  Elton  Street  crowd  showing  off  its 
bigger  band.'  If  our  people  cannot  learn  to  or- 
ganize democratically  for  larger  issues,  the  lesson 
of  organization  might  begin  quite  modestly  but 


COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY  341 

significantly  in  the  planning  of  holidays  which 
they  could  succeed  in  making  not  only  safe  and 
sane,  but  also  gay  and  beautiful. " 

The  Social  Value  of  Color  Appeal.  The  amount 
of  thought  given  to  color  in  dress  by  women  is 
largely  biologic  in  origin.  It  is  fundamentally 
based  on  the  desire  to  attract  and  hold  attention, 
to  stimulate  interest  and  desire  just  as  is  the  evo- 
lution of  color  in  birds '  plumage,  and  in  flower 
forms.  The  military  flag  is  an  evidence  of  the 
tribal  recognition  of  the  value  of  color  symbolism 
and  of  the  stirring  power  of  a  color  design  blowing 
in  the  breeze.  As  important  as  the  drummer-boy 
in  the  old  charge  was  the  color-bearer.  But  be- 
tween these  two  extremes  of  sex  allure  and  mili- 
tary ardor,  the  social  value  of  color  has  not  been 
recognized  or  applied. 

Any  one  not  in  dire  want  who  has  walked  on 
Fifth  Avenue  in  New  York  on  a  Spring  afternoon 
has  consciously  or  subconsciously  stored  up  mem- 
ories which  will  linger  for  years.  "See  Naples 
and  die"  is  one  of  the  most  extreme  statements 
which  the  recognition  of  color  charm  has  called 
forth.  If  color  is  so  moving  why  should  the  city, 
state  and  nation  not  avail  themselves  of  its  power 
to  throw  about  community  and  national  life  that 
glamor  which  it  is  in  color  to  evoke. 

Color  in  Recruiting.  That  man  is  essentially 
emotional,  and  that  color,  music  and  pattern  of 
forms  impresses  him  more  than  mere  argument  is 
what  even  the  recruiting  agents  do  not  seem  to 


342  COLOR  IN  EVERYDAY  LIFE 

recognize.  Not  only  uniforms  and  fluttering  ban- 
ners, but  every  possible  appeal  of  glowing  warmth 
and  richness  in  colors  might  well  be  used  as  a 
feature  of  recruiting  work.  Here  and  there  a  re- 
cruiting sergeant  seems  to  realize  this  in  a  meas- 
ure. One  instance  which  came  to  the  author 's  no- 
tice recently  was  on  a  New  York  City  bus  at  Vesey 
Street  and  Broadway  from  the  steps  of  which  a 
soldier  harangued  the  crowd,  while  up  above  doing 
their  work  quite  as  effectively  for  all  their  silence 
were  two  gorgeously  raimented  Scotch  "Ladies 
from  Hell. ' '  If  color  can  be  utilized  in  war  time  to 
help  arouse  emotions,  it  can  be  used  still  more 
beautifully  and  effectively  in  times  of  peace  in 
community  celebrations  and  in  community  play,  to 
create  a  group  emotion,  a  common  feeling  of  joy. 

The  block  party  is  not  the  only  opportunity  for 
converting  a  city  street  into  a  wonderland.  Holi- 
days could  be  celebrated  in  the  Venetian  carnival 
spirit  by  the  hanging  of  colored  rugs  from  the 
windows,  by  outdoor  costume  dances  in  the  city 
squares. 

Colored  Illumination  in  Holiday  Celebrations. 
"With  the  aid  of  the  new  and  growing  art  of  color 
in  electric  illumination,  the  lakes,  squares,  river 
fronts,  bridges  and  fountains  could  become  the 
centers  of  imagination-stirring  and  mood-com- 
pelling effects.  Specific  suggestions  are  to  be 
found  in  the  chapter  on  "Colored  Illumination. " 

But  this  should  be  a  people 's  art,  the  scheme  to 
be  worked  out  by  the  local  color  artists  and  exe- 


COLOR  IN  COMMUNITY  PLAY  343 

cuted  with  the  cooperation  of  the  community  and 
the  electric  light  companies.  Special  movable 
standard  apparatus  for  controlling  and  mixing 
colored  lights,  varying  its  intensities  and  chromas 
will  no  doubt  be  devised  and  be  used  to  play  upon 
fountains,  trees  and  street  pageants,  according  to 
slowly  evolving  and  ever  enriched  ideas  of  the 
possibilities  of  color  mood  in  colored  light  effects. 
Even  the  shopkeepers  in  communities  may  some 
day  be  organized  to  coordinate  their  window  and 
sign  lighting  towards  a  composite  picture,  change- 
able from  time  to  time;  just  as  building  owners 
have  cooperated  to  transform  a  whole  street  by 
bringing  color  into  the  facades. 

This  may  all  sound  like  the  dream  of  an  over- 
sanguine  art  devotee  but  there  is  not  the  slightest 
doubt  that  the  art  of  color  expression  is  in  its  in- 
fancy and  that  the  future  will  see  color  spectacles 
on  a  scale  and  order  of  beauty  and  effectiveness 
such  as  would  make  a  Venetian  carnival  seem  a 
pale  tinted  candle  flame  by  contrast.  Communi- 
ties will  yet  vie  with  one  another  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  our  nation's  holidays,  and  drab  speeches 
will  give  way  to  joy-compelling  color. 


THE   END 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


6Jan  '60PC 


D  LD 


T35T 


ECTD  LD 


T2S -64-11  AM 

«9 


FEB201967 


LOAN  DEPT. 


DEC  10  1982 


PEC. cm. 


LD  21A-50m-4,'59 
(A1724slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

-4. 


